When Geass twists Fate
by Writer under training
Summary: What happens when two people of unrelated worlds meet after death? What happens when a couple of Counter Guardians plot to free themselves from the treacherous Fate they have been put in? What will happen, when an immortal witch is forced to travel, and hunted in a parallel world? What happens when a Holy Grail War will be restarted? Pairings: Shirou X Saber, Lelouch X C.C
1. Chapter 1

**Hello friends. What you are about to read is a cross-over between Fate/Stay Night and Code Geass, focusing more on the universe of the former. Before you proceed to read the real thing a few warnings.**

**1) You must have watched either shows before reading this as a lot of stuff will be spoiled. For Fate/Stay Night it is preferred if you have read the visual novel and watched Fate/Zero, but its fine if you have watched either anime and not read the novel. **

**2) For Fate/ Stay Night: The story follows Fate Route of the visual novels while taking elements from the other routes as well. It is similar to the anime, minus the ridiculous stuff and Sakura. Sakura will be handled differently here. **

**3) For Code Geass: This story assumes that Lelouch is dead. Yeah accept that you happy ending suckers :p**

**4) Just so that I can attract few people: The main characters will be Lelouch, C.C, Saber, Emiya Shirou and to an extent Rin Tohsaka, and Matou Sakura. CG characters like Suzaku etc. won't appear any time soon.**

**Now without further ado, let's begin.**

**1) When Geass twists Fate **

"Listen Shirou, if you fail today, that will be the last thing you'll do!"

Tohsaka Rin's threats were always serious. Shirou knew that, his life was surprisingly always in danger when he's around her, and yet she's his closest friend.

Contemplating about the way the world worked Shirou looked out at the beautiful scenery waiting outside the window.

Hills and fields passed by them, and the sky was violet. The cold wind burst on his face as he watched the rising sun. Unlike in the afternoon, the sun was actually pleasant to watch. It was more like a pleasant orange sphere, than a flaring ball of energy with a surface temperature close to six thousand degrees.

"Shirou," Tohsaka gathered his attention. Her twin pony tails were dancing with the wind. She pulled them back as she spoke. "This mission will decide my fate in this association."

The worried expression on her face was real. The teal colored eyes bore a sadness that he rarely observed.

"I still don't get it," he said resting his cheek on his hand, "You are a Tohsaka, the position you have comes by heredity, right?"

"I am," she said weakly, "But if someone challenges that I am not eligible for the position, then I will be forced to prove myself. Lord El-Melloi warned me about it."

"Let me guess, another of Luvia's pranks?" Honestly these two take their rivalry tad too far. It has been three years since he joined Rin as an apprentice in the London Clock Tower, and just when he thoughts things have gotten slower since Fuyuki, this girl appears. Not a day passed without Tohsaka and Luvia fighting about the most trivial things. It's like watching two Tohsaka's, not that he would say that aloud anytime. As much as he wanted to be a selfless hero, he still valued his life a bit.

"No, even Luvia wouldn't go _that _far," Rin said, "Someone in the association doesn't like me." She looked at Shirou with what seemed a half-breed of an intimidating and terrified look and said, "In the worst case they will have me in the sealing designation."

"An enforcer?" That's the worst punishment they could give to her. Although being an enforcer could actually be a good job, for some reason the association only puts people it doesn't like or wants to discard from the association's main body as enforcers. Enforcers have nearly zero political power. Someone like him wouldn't mind being an enforcer, but for Tohsaka who takes a lot of pride on her family name, it's the worst thing they could do to her without physically touching.

"Shirou," she began to say something.

He didn't give her a chance to complete, "You need not tell me twice. Failure isn't an option right?"

The girl named Tohsaka Rin nodded meekly. Just when she seemed to drop her guard and looked soft unlike her usual self, the flare in her eyes returned, "I am not worried about me, Shirou. I just don't want you to be the reason for me to fail."

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

* * *

"The halo has been fixed, and all your sins and good deeds have been calculated," the angel-like voice spoke, "Lelouch Vi Britannia, your death tally has been made. King Yama wants to see you."

"A king summons an emperor," he spoke with the voice of a boy who was growing into a man, but with a natural air of arrogance, "Death is ironic, isn't it?"

The voice didn't respond to his musings, because it never had to. It knew that men come in different packages, and this one was an aristocratic human. Men like him seldom understood their position in the food chain thanks to the position they had during their life. So it decided to let him amuse himself, before the god of death threw in whatever punishment he deserved.

The nineteen year old was led inside, the royal guards of the death god showed him to a large table, a mahogany table.

"Lelouch Vi Britannia," A booming voice behind the table announced the boy's name. The boy didn't flinch. He was brave, or if he wasn't, he was a good actor. But he did know some humility, surprise from a person of royal lineage. "Also known as Lelouch Lamperouge, and Zero."

King Yama had a beastly appearance. As a god he had the power to take up whatever appearance he wished. Appearance wasn't a matter to gods, but only to lesser beings below them. Yama took the appearance of a stout demonic person, with eyes that could make the strongest hearts stop. He chose the appearance simply to ease his job. Mortals don't like to imagine the life-taking god nothing less than what he looked now.

"Hmm," The god looked into the book containing Lelouch's records. The frown on his face only grew deeper. The mortal was in danger, one could realize.

Everyone around the god, even Lelouch remained silent for the man to throw his judgment. For the rest of them in the room, it was yet another trial, and they simply liked to listen to interesting stories. But for Lelouch, it was important, as it decided what he would do, face the punishment of hell or enjoy his time in heaven. As if to agree with the voice's observations, Lelouch lost his haughty smile and studied King Yama's expression seriously.

"You deserve to be burnt in the boiling lava," the god spoke. Lelouch closed his eyes, accepting what was given to him. Perhaps he was prepared for this, the day when he murdered countless number of people, directly or indirectly. It was something he deserved. Perhaps the boy knew this, which was why he didn't cry. He simply closed his eyes, mourning for his soul that was about to be put to the hardest tests.

"But—" The mood changed. The god's guards immediately understood that this was one of those rare trials where things actually turn out to be interesting. "You have impressed us with your deeds. Destroying the opportunity of a fellow soul to live, the act of killing is a heinous crime. But circumstances show that every instance of killing you have done was morally justified. You are not an arrogant soul who killed people for selfish deeds, but a lost soul searching for answer. Your actions did well to the world."

A tense look developed on each and every face in the room. There were very few instances in which a mass murderer was let loose by King Yama. But every time he did, he put one punishment on the person, one punishment that was worse than hell and better than heaven at the same time.

"I sentence you to Avalon!" The huge personality said with finality.

A collective gasp surrounded the boy and the god.

Avalon, a distant utopia, the land that was said to be the final resting place for the souls that were said to have 'saved the world'. A place only for the well-deserving 'heroes'.

"But only on a condition," he spoke, "You shall serve as a Counter Guardian, as the servant of humanity. You shall be free of this when you save as many lives as you have killed during your life. Needless to say the kills you perform as a hero shall also be taken into account."

The voice was silent, just as everyone else in the room was. This boy, Lelouch was served the harshest punishment and the greatest gift at the same time. He was sentenced to be the hero of the world, but he would be called a god's dog. His will was bound by Alaya itself.

It was a boon and a curse. If you like to save innocent lives, it would be a boon at first. But when the endless cycle of killing and saving people keeps repeating, at some point the bearer would comprehend it as a curse.

The voice watched the boy. He was neither shocked nor disappointed. But there was a distinct sadness in his eyes, which was covered by a layer of emotionless eyes. He simply bowed, "I accept my destiny, and I shall serve humanity as I am bound to."

"Take him to Avalon," King Yama directed the voice. He was a lot easier to convince than the rest.

* * *

Wherever the two went, people gave them strange looks. They constantly whispered into each other's ears. Occasionally he heard the words 'foreigners' and 'tourists'. It was reassuring to know that the townsmen of Valvale assumed them to be a bunch of foreigners who have come to their humble town for sightseeing, but Emiya Shirou couldn't fathom what exactly was worth seeing in this seemingly ordinary English Town.

Anyway, everything was well and good unless the folks suspect they were sent by Magus Association to secure a forbidden sorcery. The Magus Association didn't have much idea about what it was, but they wanted to secure it anyway, before the Holy Church landed their 'filthy' hands on it.

"Shirou," Tohsaka tugged the boy's arms to gather his attention. "I sense a boundary field," she whispered.

"A boundary field…" Shirou closed his eyes to confirm what he said. Shirou was as strange to Magus as Tarzan was to the ordinary mankind. His way of sensing things were primitive, he lacked proper training as magus and yet he was successful when things really counted. He was still in the third grade in the Magus's school, but his skills were good enough to beat wizards.

The sweet sensation struck him. It was Shirou's way of sensing a boundary field. "You are right. It's faint but it seems to be well laid."

Rin nodded, "Can you sense which direction it's coming from?"

"I will give it a try," the boy closed his eyes. He searched for the source of the smell. It was simple; all he had to check was where the sweet sensation was coming from. He looked around, sniffing the surroundings. When he faced the west he stopped, "That way," he pointed.

There was a glint of Rin's face, "This could be easier than we thought."

The woman dressed in a red shirt, and a short black skirt dashed off in the direction he pointed. Needless to say, Shirou followed her and caught up within no time.

"I am planning to take the next train back," she said. "So let's put some extra effort into running."

The woman's speed began to rise steadily. Within just five steps she dashed forward with an inhuman speed of 60Kmph.

"I wish I could do that," Shirou sighed. Well when Rin uses her magic to ease things, he always had to put extra physical effort to compensate his lack of magic.

He passed through the streets, as the people watched them in awe. Rin was almost out of sight, it was almost impossible for him to keep up. He put more power into his legs. At the crossing between the streets, she took a left turn, where the field seemed to get stronger.

Shirou did the same and followed her lead into the main road. The traffic signal bulb turned green, and the vehicles began to move. But Rin Tohsaka paid no heed to the traffic, and he had no intention of falling back.

As he stepped onto the road, a white car almost bumped into him, Shirou exerted as much force as he could and jumped forward only to fall into the path of a truck carrying some large load.

This wasn't how Emiya Shirou, future hero of justice supposed to die. There was one thing he could do—Projection. He had to project something, something that would be best for the occasion.

"Trace On!"

Light passed through the magic circuits he imagined to exist in his brain. Out of thin air, a sword materialized in his hand.

He flung the sword straight into the vehicle's tire, cutting the rubber with ease. With the screeching noise of metal against the road, the truck came to a stop, giving the boy enough time to land, recover and dash onto the other side.

Shirou ignored the truck driver's insults as he once again desperately tried to keep up with Rin.

'_Someday I will get killed trying to keep up with her,'_ he said to himself. It wasn't far from the truth.

After a couple of blocks, he took another turn into the open road that led into the outskirts of the town.

As he sprinted down the road, Shirou noticed the populace around dwindling down. The air became stagnant, and reeked with death. The fresh country air that rejuvenated spirits was no longer seen.

Soon he found himself on a deserted country road, alone. Tohsaka was too fast, and out of sight. His pace slowed down. He took a deep breath and looked at the surroundings.

He was deep inside the boundary field now, but this was no ordinary boundary field. It had the same spirit consuming aura that Rider's field had, back in Fuyuki. "This is bad," he muttered.

He had some magic resistance, thanks to the next to nothing magic he learned in the school for three years. He silently thanked the Professors whom he didn't particularly like. Especially Lord El-Melloi, for putting him in the magic school along with seven year olds.

Since he had come this far, he had no choice but to move forward.

In situations like this it was better to stay on guard and arm yourself, but Emiya Shirou was always armed.

I am the bone of my sword—

Emiya Shirou was a weapon himself, he says to himself once in a while. It was an incantation he discovered. It was just a fancy line he prepared for the future hero he was to become. It did have some effect on him though. Projection became a lot easier when he did that. The incantation usually made him push his usual Projection limits.

Shirou resumed his sprint, albeit slow paced than before. No sooner than he felt he was reaching the center of the field, he noticed a building looming far away in the path he walked.

"Oh, man why does it always have to be a church?" He complained to no one in particular.

He looked at the dark building. Ever since Kotomine, Shirou had developed a natural aversion towards churches. He wasn't a staunch follower of god, so he didn't particularly miss the church; he preferred to go to Ryuudou Temple with Issei. Religion was never an issue for him, and Fuji-nee only believed in free loading on the Emiya residence.

The church's door was open. He was positive that Tohsaka went this way, but he decided to be cautious. He took a small detour through the shrubs and approached the church from the right. To his luck, he spotted an open window.

Carefully avoiding the sight of a possible observer inside the church, he managed to approach the worn out walls of the church. It seems, not many people visited the church anymore, Shirou noted.

He slowly crawled to below the open wooden doors of the grill-less window; his gaze was firmly on the window, in case someone peeped out and noticed him.

He slowly rose from his crouching position to see what was inside, and then something passed by the window. Shirou's heart skipped a beat; he turned his back to the wall, and stood flat against it.

He heard a faint footstep approaching the window, cautiously. The person on the other side of the window must have sensed him too.

Whoever was on the other side, they were extremely vigilant. Shirou couldn't hear a single sound after the footstep he heard earlier. Maybe they have sensed where he was and prepared to attack him with some kind of weapon.

Shirou closed his eyes. He was lucky to have turned his magic circuit on long before he came here. He could now skip the 'Trace On' part. A pair of twin swords materialized in Shirou's hands.

He made a strategy in his mind. He would deflect whatever the opponent attacked with Kansho and return with Bakuya.

"Alright," he silently encouraged himself. "I am a hero of justice, I can do this." Anxiety raced his heart, and adrenaline was ready to push him, in case he fell in trouble.

With one final breath, Shirou lunged up, and jumped in through the window. As soon as his foot left the ground, something fast came towards him.

"_Gandr" The_ source of the attack uttered while it performed the attack.

Shirou's instinct made Kansho move to his aid, and faced the unseen projectile. The projectile struck the artificial sword, which disintegrated right after blocking the attack. His right hand, that carried Bakuya immediately moved to strike the target but—

"Tohsaka!" Shirou exclaimed as he landed on the rim.

"Emiya-kun," Rin with an uplift arm, and a pointed finger looked at him equally surprised.

Either of them sighed in relief at the same time.

"You had me on my toes there," Tohsaka said.

"Did you finish everyone inside or something?" Shirou asked, as he dropped inside, half-expecting a couple of unconscious people, courtesy of _gandr_. But the chapel was empty, not a single soul other than the two of them, making the large row of benches redundant.

"It's empty," Rin said, examining the room. "There might be someone hidden inside though."

Well it doesn't make sense for anyone _not _to be here. Not when they were guarding whatever it was, with a boundary field.

"There is a possibility," Rin said, as they searched one room after the other. "Maybe the magus here didn't expect the association drop on him like this. The boundary field is strong enough to put an ordinary man to death. Even with the slightest magical resistance you can survive this place."

"Are you telling our guy is careless?" He asked.

"No, I am not saying that but he could be underestimating the eyes of the association. Hiding is impossible."

The duo stopped by one last room which hadn't been checked. "Well this is the only room left," Rin muttered, putting a hand on the knob, "I don't sense anyone here either."

She twisted the knob and moved the door open. Shirou said, "Maybe the guy fled, and forgot to turn off the boundary field."

Rin chuckled at this, "Shirou, why would anyone waste their magical—" The magus stopped in her tracks and stood stiff as if she saw a ghost.

Shirou noticed the change in her body language and gently pushed the door open.

"Ah—" the scene stopped his heart for a second.

The room, which was plastered with a light cream color, was sprayed with blood all over its walls. The room was in disarray, papers were scattered all over, some soaked in blood. The desk and the chair seemed to be out of their original positions too.

Most important of them all, the part of the room that knocked him out of breath was—

The girl with long green hair sprawled on the floor, lying in a pool of blood. The girl's eyes were closed as if she was sleeping peacefully, with a hole on her head and a gash on her torso.

Before Shirou could recover from the shock, steady footsteps echoed down the long corridor that led to the chapel.

"Tohsaka!" Shirou jumped into the room at once, pushing Rin along with him.

As they landed on the floor, something struck the wall in the corridor and brought it down to dust with an explosion.

Tohsaka recovered first, "What's going on?"

Sunlight seeped in through the dark corridor, and into the blood-filled room.

"Hey Busso, you could have gone a bit easier on the wall," a haughty voice spoke from the outside.

Shirou and Rin watched in surprise, as another person came into the scene, through the opening created by the destroyed wall.

He was about six foot, the same height as Shirou, dressed in a black coat over a white shirt underneath. His hair was red, just like Shirou's except overgrown and combed back.

He looked at them with menacing brown eyes, "Looks like the Association has sniffed us out. Let's shift the order from here Busso," and said with a vicious smile, "After we kill these puppies of course."


	2. The girl in the Sunflower Field

**2. The Girl in the Sunflower Field**

"Is this it?"

"Yes," the mysterious voice answered. Lelouch was unaware of the source of the voice but it has guided him ever since he reached the other world. It had watched him throughout King Yama's hearing. He didn't know what it was, but it was an invisible entity.

Lelouch looked down to the path he traversed.

The spiral of stairs below him was a brilliant gold. It was truly majestic, something not even the Britannian Emperor ever imagined to exist. Watching the stairs reminded him that he was dead again and again.

It was quite a short life.

But still he had no regrets. He entrusted the entire world, Nunnally especially to Suzaku, the only true friend he ever had in the short life.

Yet, it was painful.

A brilliant heavenly light enveloped his eyes.

He was not in heaven, Lelouch reminded himself.

He would be in Avalon, only the spirits bound to Alaya exist, as a counter guardian.

"Enter through the light, Lelouch," the voice spoke. It was kind, and soft. A voice perhaps only the purest of the purest souls could carry.

All complains aside Lelouch walked inside. The light filled him, as he slowly stepped in.

* * *

"Looks like today isn't your good day, love birds," the redhead laughed, enjoying his own joke. "You chose the wrong park."

Shirou was unhappy at their situation. There was no presence of their enemies when they entered the Church. If it weren't for that, Rin of all wouldn't just enter into the church. So, it was just their ill-luck that their enemies happened to carelessly leave their stronghold and went out for a stroll. It was annoying to pay for your opponent's carelessness.

Well for his credit, this guy carried a gun. But what the other guy used wasn't one. It was more like a magic spell like some kind.

Magus, who use guns? They were surely a strange pair.

"Maybe," said Tohsaka, not hiding the hint of arrogance in her voice. Does she have something up her sleeve? Shirou wondered. "Maybe we should have chosen something green," she remarked.

"You can talk, girl." The other guy smiled in return. His hands were firmly gripped on the pistol in his hand now.

'_Okay,' _Shirou studied her. Rin was serious. What would she do against a gun? She's a good magus and all, but a gun was something beyond her scope.

"Shirou, get down!" Rin yelled at once, aiming her fore finger at the man.

It happened in a flash.

The other guy reacted quickly enough and aimed his gun at her and pulled the trigger.

"_Gandr." _She spelled at the same time. The dark spell, the Finnish curse was shot as soon as she uttered the name.

They missed each other. The bullet grazed past between Shirou and Rin while the _Gandr_ barely missed his forehead.

The redhead prepared to fire another bullet as he dove to duck behind the wall but Rin fired another _Gandr _before he had the chance to do so. He simply ducked instead.

Taking the chance, both Rin and Shirou hid behind the desk in the room.

The guy was surprised by Rin's _Gandr. _Normally magic spells require an incantation of some kind. But the _Gandr _doesn't need one. If it were anyone but Tohsaka they would have fallen deep into trouble.

Guns were always terrible enemies for Magus.

Taking the chance Shirou traced his favorite swords Kansho and Bakuya, in case they were necessary.

A dreaded silence enveloped them. It was like the calmness before the storm.

Tohsaka peeked in through the right side of the table, ready to fire, if the man behind the wall decided to do the same.

The silence stood tad too long.

An awful feeling struck Shirou. He exchanged a glance with Rin; she was thinking the same perhaps, he thought.

"The other guy can use Wind Magecraft," Rin whispered. "He could attack from behind the walls."

Or the ceiling, Shirou thought. It wasn't safe to be at a single spot.

"When I count to three," Rin said, "I'll kick the table into the corridor, attack that guy at the same time."

Shirou nodded.

"Three…"

"Two…"

"One!"

Rin kicked the table forward with her Reinforced legs. The wooden table was blown away, as if it were a football. The table shot past the open door into the corridor.

Shirou jumped forward, Kansho and Bakuya in hands. He hurled Kansho as he moved forward, expecting the opponent to move as soon as he senses Shirou's footsteps. But he also had Bakuya. If the guy decided to make his move a second later, then he could finish him with the second twin sword.

At the same time, the ceiling broke into splinters right above Tohsaka.

* * *

The bright light disappeared.

It was finally Lelouch's turn to see what the rumored Avalon was. The place they called the resting place for heroes. A place that's called heaven and hell at the same time—to the people assigned to be counter guardians.

He opened his eyes, adjusting to the brightness of the surroundings to watch how Avalon looked like.

The scene stunned Lelouch.

It was beautiful.

The first sight he took on Avalon was a large sunflower field, filled with bright sunflowers that looked as if they carried a welcoming smile for Lelouch. They were all energetic, with beautiful orange-yellow petals. Their heads bobbed with the gentle wind. It was as if the entire scenery was orchestrated by god himself.

But what stunned him more was the beauty standing among the sun flowers.

A young woman with blonde hair stood in the midst of the field, her beauty surpassing the Sunflowers' by a mile. Her golden hair was let loose, draped over her shoulders. She was wearing a green gown, perhaps to imitate the green stems of the sunflowers.

Her eyes were beautiful emerald, and her face was shining with hope.

But the beauty remained only for a second. The girl's emerald eyes were crestfallen as her eyes set on Lelouch. The beautiful smile on her face, her hope disappeared.

She turned around, and frolicked away into the distance.

The whole scene surprised Lelouch. Why was the girl disappointed when she set her eyes on him?

It was obvious.

She must have been waiting for someone.

* * *

"Tohsaka!"

Shirou screamed, as the ceiling collapsed on her. At the rate the ceiling collapsed, there was nothing he could do to save Tohsaka. But there was something else—

His rage shifted to the mage who broke through the top, and tossed Bakuya immediately.

The sword flew straight at the man called Busso, amidst the splinters and struck him straight on his back.

The wound was close to fatal, Busso collapsed on the rubble like a dead bird. The fall seemed to knock him unconscious, because he didn't make a noise after.

"Busso!" The redhead hiding behind the wall barged in; the gun was still his hand.

He immediately aimed the gun at Shirou. Shirou knew it was his end. There were two of them, and he had time only to beat one. He tossed Bakuya at Busso, so he was left wide open to the other guy.

He knew his fate was sealed. He's going to die today. He wasn't afraid of death, but didn't like dying without accomplishing anything.

Much to his anticipation, the redhead however didn't fire. He simply stood, glaring at Shirou with anger. "Projection?" He asked, maintaining a frown while doing so.

Shirou didn't dare to move. He was in no position to. Rin had luck in surprising him, but the same won't repeat twice.

The glare on the redhead's face disappeared, "I guess it's unfair to fight you with a gun," he dropped the weapon, startling Shirou.

"It's surprising though," he said. "To do such an unusual projection. But to use the same two swords as me—"

The remark startled Shirou. Same swords as him?

"Who are you?" The redhead asked Shirou.

Shirou didn't answer his question; instead he projected Kansho and Bakuya again. This guy was dangerous, and now's the not time to screw up, Shirou reminded himself of Rin's warning.

"I guess this will make you talk," the redhead then said, "Projection, start!"

What happened next, surprised Shirou the most. As soon as the other guy completed his chant, two twin swords appeared in his hands.

No.

Two twin swords identical to the one Shirou carried appeared in his hands. "Kansho, Bakuya," the man opposing him muttered. "I don't know who you are but we seem to have similar magic skills, and you seem to be Japanese too. Who the heck are you?" The other redhead asked, sharpening his glare.

Shirou himself was clueless. Why would anyone have the same weapons as him? He simply copied Archer's projection. It was not something great, but still the unique style of projection was possible only for Archer and him.

The best thing he could say to this man was his name, "I am Emiya Shirou," he said. Shirou lifted Kansho and lunged at the redhead. "That's the only thing I know!"

"Emiya?!" The man was startled, but he blocked the blow with his own Kansho. Shirou went for his heart with Bakuya, but was blocked easily, causing either of them to be locked in a battle of strengths.

"Your projection is amazing," the other man said in glee. "But not quite good!"

Shirou's Kansho shattered into pieces. Shirou reacted to it by putting his entire force into Bakuya and kicked the redhead back giving himself time to trace another Kansho.

"You do the projection pretty quickly," the redhead smirked, wiping the sweat off his forehead, "But it's the quality that matters the most."

It was true. His way of projection was faster because he was trained by Rin to keep his circuits always on. But that was something every decent mage could learn.

'_I am the bone of my sword.'_

The strange sentence that hardly had any meaning allowed him to skip the first step of projection just like how Rin's training let him keep the circuits on. It was something he discovered through three years of training.

"It's good to know that someone with a similar ability as mine exists," the redhead relaxed from his battle style. "My name is Takahashi Kuro. I find it amusing though. I am the only one who's supposed to have the Takahashi crest."

"Takashi crest…?" Shirou was honestly puzzled. Crest in the sense of a magic crest?

Takahashi however continued, "The red hair, those brown eyes, there is no doubt, you are a Takahashi. Perhaps, one of the low-lying branch scum. It still doesn't explain how you can do projection though."

What he said made Shirou more confused. What in the world was he babbling about? Nevertheless, he should finish him off to save Tohsaka.

With anger pulsed into his brain, Shirou charged at Kuro with his twin swords but—

"It's time to show you a real sword—"

Kuro said those words as Shirou approached him.

A sudden feeling of dread enveloped Shirou. In the frozen instant, when he lunged at Kuro with Kansho and Bakuya, a tremendous wind erupted between Kuro's hands. It could have been an illusion, Shirou thought. Maybe it was a coincidence that the wind came in that direction, he said to himself. But deep down he knew, the wind was created by Kuro's sorcery.

Blown away by the wind, the Emiya fell on the rubble that used to be the room's ceiling. The blood that was spread everywhere stuck to his dress, soiling his blue pants, black.

The wind slowly grew into a storm, blowing everything around them away. Shirou closed his eyes as the dust rose up with the powerful windstorm.

It reminded him of Saber's Invisible Air.

Could it be?

Was this man projecting, Caliburn or Excalibur? A dreadful question zapped through his mind.

The wind calmed down. The flying dust and papers settled back, and Shirou's vision became clear.

In the hands of the redhead Takahashi Kuro's hands was—

"Kusanagi," he said, "The sword that can control wind itself. I suppose, I need not explain that to a Japanese."

Shirou's mind was blank. It was indeed the sword of the rumored legend itself. Kusanagi, the silver blade that utilizes the power of wind to cut anything as if it were grass. It was one of the famous swords in Japanese folklore.

"What do you think of it?" This man Takahashi Kuro carelessly held the sword with his left hand. As if to show that projecting something so powerful hardly had much effect on his stamina.

Emiya Shirou couldn't win against this sword with ordinary means. He had to project something equally powerful to stop. A sword created by a god could only beaten by an equally angelic sword.

Shirou closed his eyes imagining the same sword he always imagined to—

The golden sword that was set in the stone to choose a king, the sword that was said to have made King Arthur immortal, and was eventually lost by the king—Caliburn!

Shirou searched for the image of Caliburn that always existed in his mind and—

Came out with nothing.

'_What's going on?' _Shirou was terrified. Why couldn't he get a proper image of Caliburn in his mind?

He focused further, remembering the greatness of the sword, the images of the memory he shared with Saber but—

He did found an image but it was a weak one. The beautiful sword adorned with gold and a sharp blade that can never chip or rust—why couldn't he imagine it in the same detail as he did before? Projecting the weak image would result in creating a useless sword that would be nothing but a burden to carry.

"What is it, Shirou?" Kuro teased, "Are you too scared to trace anything against my sword?"

This shouldn't be happening. He had a perfect image of Caliburn during the Holy Grail war. He projected it to kill Berserker. How could forgetting it be even possible? All Emiya Shirou needed was a single glance to remember a sword forever.

"Die, Emiya Shirou." Kuro lifted the Kusanagi, prepared to slice Emiya Shirou in half, with the power of the wind.

* * *

As directed by the voice Lelouch crossed the sunflower field where he hit upon signs of a civilization. It was stunning that something so orderly existed even in the world of dead people. He expected himself to be sitting amongst clouds, flying carelessly.

But all around him were wooden and stone buildings, painted in various colors. It was as if he travelled five hundreds back, instead of going to the dead.

So far, he was feeling human. In fact _very _human.

'_Would my Geass work in this world?'_ It was a tough question. There was no way he could test it on the voice accompanying him. Simply because it was a voice. What the hell was it, anyway?

"This is where we shall part," the voice said. "You are on your own from now. I am happy to have another wonderful hero working for me."

Saying so, the invisible spirit behind Lelouch disappeared.

'_Working for me?'_ Does that mean?

"That voice was Alaya?!" Lelouch exclaimed in realization.

* * *

"What the?!"

It was the reaction Takahashi Kuro gave when his sword of Kusanagi was _blocked._

Takahashi stepped back in surprise, while Emiya pushed himself back to his feet.

Shirou was out of breath, the sword he projected was one of the mythological swords that were extremely hard to project. He didn't expect to survive otherwise; Kusanagi was one of the supreme swords in existence.

"So you have a couple of good swords in your arsenal too, huh," Kuro said, shifting his hold on the Kusanagi.

Shirou's brain screamed for oxygen, as a numb feeling set all over him. He wanted to take a second to get back his body to his control, to settle down the rupture in his head. But he couldn't afford to rest now. "I haven't been playing in Europe," he said breathing heavily. "This sword is called Durandal. Do you want to know what it does?" He asked, raising his voice.

Saying so Shirou lunged at Kuro, the sword in his hand was raised to strike him from the top. Kuro didn't attempt to block the strike, but moved away from the path. The sword struck the wall behind him instead, cutting through the wall as if it were butter.

"Ah!" there was genuine surprise on the other redhead's face.

There's a reason Durandal was called the sharpest sword in history.

Shirou paced at Kuro, who took a defensive stance and set a frenzy of attacks on the redhead. Kuro successfully parried Shirou's attacks away. Shirou attempted to pierce him with the tip. The attack was successfully deflected. Frustrated, he attempted one more swing that was once more parried by Kusanagi. The two fighters took a step back from each other, catching for their breaths.

"Your sword must be really sharp," Kuro said with a wry smile, breathing heavily, "The differences in our skills seem to be matched by your sword's sharpness. But you see Kusanagi isn't meant to be a sharp sword."

Shirou's arms ached, but he was far from going down. As long as Durandal gave him the slight advantage he could win. When compared to the other redhead, Shirou had better control over handling the sword. He could win if things go on like this but—

But, Kuro had something else up his sleeve. "Now take this!" He yelled, as he lifted his sword. "Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!"

The sword's true name was uttered as Kuro landed a slash in midair.

"Uh!" Shirou was surprised by the sudden light coming from the sword and jumped away from its path. A powerful burst of wind passed past Shirou, and struck the wall his Durandal sliced earlier, this time crushing it into a million pieces.

Shirou stared at the Kusanagi, his eyes wide open, while Kuro looked at him with a smirk. He lifted the sword once more and—

"Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!"

Prepared another slash with wind.

Shirou ran into the corridor, as the air slashed through the opposite wall of the corridor. The hotheaded Emiya dove into the chapel. He would have better chance if he could take the fight outside.

"Are you running away, Shirou?!"

A distant yell followed Shirou as he went for the open window he jumped in through earlier.

"Kusanagi-no—"

Shirou turned around as Kuro lifted his sword for another strike in the air. He was aiming at the window!

Shirou threw himself back onto the benches as—

"—Tsurugi!"

The slash in the air struck where he used to stand, slicing the entire wall, including the window frame into half.

Why does he keep calling him as if they knew each other dearly? He could try something like Shirou-san for starters.

While one side of his brain was thinking about something so trivial, the other side had different ideas.

He ducked to behind the long row of benches as Kuro prepared for another attack.

"There's more from where that came from," he said with a devilish smile, lifting the sword into the air. "Kusanagi-no—"

Enough running. Shirou was annoyed. Almost every fight in his life always started with him running for life. He had to be the one attacking first, if he wanted to save lives.

"Take this—!"Shirou lifted the Durandal high up into the air, and with reinforcement powered hands, he tossed the sharp sword, as if it were a javelin.

Meanwhile on Kuro's side: As Shirou rose from behind the benches, with his sword held horizontally against the ground, over his shoulders, Kuro immediately recognized the way Shirou held the hilt and ducked down, halting his own attack.

The sword that moved at an inhuman speed, ripped through the back of Kuro's shirt, failing to barely graze his back.

Although it didn't actually hit him, Kuro _felt_ the sword run above him. He turned up, and saw it dug deep into the wall until the hilt.

It terrified him. If the wall was subjected to that, then what would have been the fate of his flesh?

Looking at how barely he missed death, his fear transformed into anger on the source.

"Bastard!" He sprang up, Kusanagi still in his hand. "I'm going to cut you into a million pieces!"

'_Dammit.' _Shirou felt his energy draining away, his lungs were burning, and the hand he reinforced to toss the weapon ached with pain for having pushed beyond its physical limits.

But this was no time to rest. He traced Kansho and Bakuya into his hands. They were separated a couple of feet. His only bet now was to close in before Kuro completes his attack and kill him.

Kuro lifted his sword, ready to perform the attack again.

Shirou began his charge. He held Kansho close to himself, while Bakuya was lifted in the air over his shoulders.

"Kusanagi—!"

Shirou could cover only one third of the distance between them.

'_I won't make it!' _Something inside told him. But he knew how to buy his time.

He tossed Bakuya at the redhead. It wasn't reinforced but—

Kuro ducked at the poorly aimed Bakuya, and prepared his sword to finish the advancing Shirou.

Shirou was less than half a distance away from Kuro. Throwing Bakuya gave him about half-a-second or so but it was plenty.

The sword Kusanagi began to glow with energy as Emiya closed into it. Once Kuro completes the chant, the sword will release the energy that could cut Emiya Shirou into two. But only if his Kansho failed to impale him first.

"-no—!"

Shirou was almost close. Kuro's raised sword came down, and a powerful wind emerged from the sword.

Fear made Shirou change his angle at the last minute. He tried to dive to the right, while continuing to charge at the same time.

The sword blew past his left cheek—

Shirou proceeded to stab, Kansho ended up piercing into the area below Kuro's right shoulder.

At the same time Shirou felt something slash his left part. It was the sword Kusanagi cutting into his left shoulder.

"Tsuru—!"

The third word of the incantation wasn't complete, instead Kuro screamed in pain. Shirou struck him first. He saved his life at the expense of a deep cut on his left shoulder.

In his momentum Shirou toppled Kuro along with him, and either of the two fighters ended up hitting the carpet.

"Agghhh!" Shirou cringed in pain, as the sword that slashed him dug in deeper thanks to the impact created by their fall. It was the same for Kuro, except the injury was much deeper.

Kusanagi wasn't designed to be sharp for fighting, but it was designed to manipulate the wind to its best. If it were something like Durandal Emiya Shirou would have been like a half-cut cake.

A pool of blood slowly grew as the red blood dripped from either of their cuts.

The two moved apart, each in their own world of pain.

Shirou felt like his left shoulder was on needles. The pain was sharp, and kept throbbing. He felt it would be better if that part was completely removed from his body or magically stuck together back like nothing happened.

The fight wasn't over yet. Shirou was well-aware of that. He struggled with his right arm to get back up, and collapsed on the bench nearby, but pushed again and stood up.

Meanwhile Kuro himself was staggering to get back to his feet. He bumped onto the benches around twice before staggering back again.

"S-Shirou…" he said hissing in pain, "We should stop this battle, now."

"Are you giving up?" Shirou asked, despite his own voice shivering with pain, and a ragged breath.

He raised his left hand, with utmost difficulty. "Look at that," he pointed at something behind.

Putting a wary eye on Kuro, Shirou turned back to see what he was pointing to. He saw nothing but a crow that perched on the open door—

'_A familiar?'_

"Someone else's watching us," he said, "I bet it's the church Executors. I underestimated you guys, but not the church. I'll take my friend and you save your own. The _order_ mustn't fall under their hands at any cost."

'_Huh?'_ Shirou then was reminded of the awful fact that he forgot Tohsaka under the rubble.

"Alright," he was compelled to agree.

* * *

"Ah, you must be new to Avalon," a plump looking man appeared, rubbing his arms. "I am pretty sure you would like to put good use to your money. How about investing it in our business?"

"I have a wonderful room for you to rent, sir," another person approached. "It has a pretty good view, and ventilation."

About a dozen people surrounded Lelouch, and started requesting him various things, none that he expected in a life after death. What the hell's wrong with this world?

"I think that's enough," a new voice interrupted them all. Pushing all of them aside, a man in a thin black business suit appeared.

The man caught Lelouch by his arm and pulled him out of the mob, onto the brick road. Yes, it was a brick road for some reason_. 'Apparently mortar didn't do well in Avalon,'_ Lelouch criticized.

"I prefer walking over getting dragged," he said as the lean man showed no signs of slowing down.

"Oh," the man noticed that he was dragging the boy tad too much. "Sorry," he apologized with a ready smile. "Some of them are known for swindling newcomers."

Lelouch was really confused. This was supposed to be the land of dead, not some new locality for middle class families. What the heck was up this place, anyway? Shouldn't the dead be enjoying their afterlives? And yet—

There were all kinds of shops around him. It was definitely strange.

There was this fruit market, the vegetable market, and even a bakery. The funny thing was there were no little kids prancing around. In fact, he seemed to be the youngest of all he had seen.

"The Avalon system works differently than you expected?" The man in the suit asked.

Lelouch frowned. Was he trying to get chummy? Lelouch wasn't fond of bonding. In fact all attempts people make to bond with him make him loathe them. This was precisely why Suzaku was his only true friend.

"Yes," he replied casually. Not curt to cut the conversation while not being friendly at the same time.

The lean man said after a pause, "I am not here to ask you to invest your money in anything," he chuckled. "I only have a small request. Will you share a coffee with me?" He pointed at the café on the other side of the road.

Lelouch looked at the man for a second. Well what does he have to be scared of? He was dead anyway, "Fine," he said. "But I don't have anything to pay," he said with a fake smile. It was a mystery why all those people expected money on him.

The other man chuckled at this, "Yes, but they give you some money once you get to Avalon," he said leading Lelouch towards a nearby café.

"So, I have a bank account even after I die?" Lelouch asked, half-sarcastic.

"Something like that," the man took a pack of cigarettes and casually lit with his pocket lighter. He took a puff of smoke and said, "The tobacco's better than on earth for their credit, and you need not worry about something like cancer because—"

"We are dead anyway," Lelouch finished. For some reason he found it mandatory to push the fact on himself every once in a while.

"For a young man, you seem to be awfully calm. You must be quite a hero," the man said.

"On the contrary," Lelouch said, "I was a villain."

The man remained calm to this, "I see," he said taking another puff. "Most heroes are like that. No glory, no name. It's not like any of them here like to be called a hero." He said, "Most of them loathe the word here. And yet everyone here is a hero of some kind."

It was an interesting fact, Lelouch considered. But then again, it was to be expected. "So, what is it like to be a counter guardian?"

The man looked at him from the corner of his eyes, "You always get killed or cheated. That's what I know. Never completed a mission successfully."

Then how in the world does he plan to end this cycle?

"I saved enough lives always though," he said. "I came here pretty recently, eight years ago, going by earth's time."

So as long as he saved enough lives, the mission wasn't a concern. Interesting.

"You'll figure out everything when you're summoned," The lean man said, "Alaya puts a lot more info than necessary. Instead you must be more worried about your life here."

"Why?" Lelouch asked. It was the least he needed to put the conversation less monotonic.

"In this place, you are expected to survive as an ordinary man. Magic or any sorts of powers are banned. Lead an honest life; earn money to put yourself alive those are the basic principles of living in here. As long as you are here, you are only half dead."

"Does that mean," Lelouch asked, "I can get killed?"

"Yeah," he said. They were finally at the café, "Magic is banned, but not everyone is so honest."

"So, I have to live an _ordinary _life, without any free pleasures. I have to work hard for everything, and yet I have to save the world, without accepting anything in return. In addition I can get killed if I mix with the wrong kind." This practically puts all his work to waste.

"Yeah," the man said, "This place is pretty much screwed up. But I can see it in your eyes. You are smart," he said.

So, it finally comes out, Lelouch mused. Praise will always be followed by a request or a proposition. So this man wants him for something. _'I wonder what it is.'_

The man was about to push the door when he turned back and said, "This café is my favorite place because a girl who constantly lives in a dream works here."

Does that even make sense? So, it's someone he knew?

"By the way. I am," he said before pushing the door, "Emiya Kiritsugu." Saying so he entered the café, without waiting for a reply from Lelouch.

The two of them took a table and settled down. Lelouch considered telling his name, but he preferred to not do so. The facts he told about this world already left a sour taste in his mouth. He was in no mood for any talk.

A waitress approached them, as Lelouch checked the menu. There were a couple of names he never heard, but the basic items seem to be the same.

The waitress stood beside the table as Lelouch continued to browse through the list. Lelouch expected some kind of formal courtesy you normally expect from a waitress.

"So you are planning to introduce me to someone again?" She asked in a demanding voice. It surprised Lelouch. That wasn't how waitress talked on earth. "You are crossing your limits, Kiritsugu."

Lelouch shifted his eyes to the woman and—

Was surprised to see it was the same woman he saw in the sunflower field, earlier. The same woman, except her hair was tied into a bun. The woman wore a white over-red skirt, and carried a plate. Her eyes carried a deep frown, and were fixed on the man opposite to him.

He checked her badge which carried a name. "Arturia Pendragon." It read.

**Based on the reviews I have got, I believe I should give a small explanation on Takahashi Kuro. I think I know my Nasuverse well enough.**

**Shirou's projection is abnormal, and unique. That's what I am showing here. Shirou believes that he and Archer should be the only ones to do the abnormal projection. The whole reality marble enabling him to 'trace' swords instead of just projecting them is abnormal. But if the abnormality is related to his origin?**

**Kuro comes from a magi that researched for 8 generations for the same purpose. At some point Shirou's family branched out from the Takahashi family and are no longer related to them, but the blood remains.**

**However Kuro is only able to do the projection only because of his crest. He is unable to create Unlimited Blade Works. The only sword he is able to project are Kusanagi and Kansho, Bakuya and a couple of other swords related to their family research.**

**He is only able to project the swords written in the knowledge bank of his crest. But Shirou's situation is otherwise. The combined effects of his blood line (according to my fic), his own incapability of doing other magic, the way Avalon's healing works all these factored in creating Emiya Shirou.**

**The story takes the element from the extra Fate/Stay Night Realta Nua ending. If you haven't read it because you don't have the patch I recommend you to Google Fate/Stay Night Realta Nua Last Episode or something.**

**Also you might find Lelouch's part a bit dull. I am still making him get used to the new world. So for now he might seem a less bad-ass than usual. But hey, everyone gets their own time. Let's be realistic, he just popped dead into a very strange world. The action won't begin until later.**

**Also my version of Avalon and Counter Guardians is kinda unique and actually differs from Nasu's.**

**According to People come to Avalon to become counter guardians before dying completely and go to heaven. Arturia however is an exception….**


	3. An Unwanted Contract

**I am one week behind my update schedule. I am supposed to be writing the fourth chapter by now...Ah well.**

**A small note: I think this story is better read with width set to 1/2 or 3/4. I want my story seem like a novel :p. Hey it's up to you guys!**

**3. An unwanted Contract**

'_Pendragon?'_

The name rang more than one bell for Lelouch. Pendragon was not only the capital of Britannia, but they were the rulers of the vast empire before the Britannia took over the reign. Was this woman his ancestor?

It was plausible. It's common sense to expect people not to age in Avalon. But going by the logic, the girl looked younger than him. Does Avalon have some sort of procedure for assigning people the age they were supposed to be struck in?

In his case, he was as old as he was when he died, or at least something around it. So what exactly did this young and beautiful girl accomplish? Charm armies to death? He smiled at his own joke.

It's true that this girl may look beautiful and powerless, but she might possess a strong magic like Geass or something, Lelouch thought. It was the only plausible explanation. It's wrong to underestimate anyone, especially in Avalon.

"I am talking with you, Kiritsugu." The girl's frown grew deeper. Kiritsugu nonchalantly looked away, observing the wall décor, as if he didn't hear her. He was simply ignoring her.

"This is the third time I am warning you," She spoke with an increasing voice. "I am not interested in—"

"I would like to have coffee rather than an argument," A curt yet calm voice cut Arturia. The voice was without a doubt Lelouch's.

The girl was dumbfounded by the sudden remark from the stranger, a customer nonetheless. "I-I…" Her attention completely shifted to Lelouch. "I am sorry," she bowed slightly. "I shouldn't have let my personal feelings interfere my work." She faked a smile, "What would you like?"

Lelouch maintained his steady aloof expression, "Cappuccino," he said, disinterested. The facts related to Avalon almost gave him a headache, if illness was possible for the dead; he had no interest in watching a quarrel.

"I'll be in a minute," she bowed once more, and walked away with eyes that were dim-lit. She was heavily offended, he could see that, but he hardly cared. Why should he care about a _waitress?_ Especially in a world that wouldn't offer him anything in return. On Earth, there was at least hope for the future.

"She didn't take your order," Lelouch pointed to the silent Kiritsugu, once she left.

He chuckled, "She knows what I usually take. I am a regular." He tapped on the table, "I didn't expect that reaction from you," he chuckled once more, perhaps reminiscing the way he cut Arturia's monologue against him.

Lelouch frowned at this, "So, you were planning to hook me up with her?" Lelouch asked, looking at Kiritsugu as if he was interrogating the older man.

Kiritsugu laughed at this, "Yeah," he said throwing a cursory glance at the counter, "That girl lives in a dream."

"What do you mean?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow. This was the second time he mentioned something like that.

Kiritsugu chuckled once more. Lelouch could see that his attempts to put up a fake laughter were getting pitiful. "Why don't you find out yourself," Kiritsugu said, with a small grin.

"An interesting way to put a conversation between the two of us," Lelouch sighed. He shifted a bit, "Unfortunately for now, I have nothing in mind. Strange it is, but I want to see if there's anything remotely worthy in this place. Maybe then I could think about a girlfriend."

"Are you positive that you could make her fall for you?" Kiritsugu asked. The sly look the man gave made Lelouch understand one thing; the girl must be hard to flatter.

"I have a way to make her do my bidding," Lelouch said, resting hand against cheek. _'Geass.'_ He didn't say aloud. He would not use Geass for something cheap like that though.

"Really, I would like to see that scene," Kiritsugu genuinely laughed this time. But the smile on his face disappeared as Arturia came in.

"Your Cappuccino," she said with a sweet smile. But the smile immediately turned into a frown as she silently placed a glass on Kiritsugu's side, and walked away without a word.

Lelouch looked at what she placed before Kiritsugu. It was a clear glass of steaming water.

He was curious as for why a man who was a regular customer drank hot water, but he didn't want to bother himself about it. These kinds of things usually have strange out-of-whack explanations. It's better _not_ to ask.

Lelouch took a sip, enjoying the hot flavors. There was something mystic in it, he felt. It was a lot better than the ones he normally had. If everything tastes so better in Avalon, then he must try wine at some point, Lelouch considered.

Meanwhile, Kiritsugu finished his drink and placed the empty glass on the table. "As I said," he said getting up, "I'll pay up." Lelouch gave a mild nod in approval.

"Good luck," the lean man winked before leaving. Lelouch understood what he meant. But he had no interest in that girl, no matter how beautiful she was.

Kiritsugu walked towards the counter. The man at the counter seemed to be familiar with him because they exchanged a brief conversation before Kiritsugu departed.

Lelouch hardly missed him. He might have gone for hunting another handsome prince for the waitress.

Lelouch casually consumed the beverage, examining the people around. He hardly recognized any of them. If they were all heroes, then he should be identifying a couple of them, right? Or were they spread out from different time periods that they were hardly recorded in histories. In the midst of his thoughts, he finished his cup. There were more mysteries about this world of heroes. He wanted to study them slowly without any haste. After all, he had too much time in his hands.

Thinking so, Lelouch left the café. He didn't see the girl Arturia as he left the place. He simply walked out with the same nonchalant attitude.

As he walked into the main road he remembered one thing: _'I didn't introduce myself to anyone.'_ He didn't want to worry much about it, but he felt strange. He wanted to be alone, he realized.

* * *

"Are you okay, Shirou?" Tohsaka asked the delirious redhead.

The world was spinning in Shirou's eyes. Everything was hazy around him. The firm ground was no longer firm. What seemed stationary to his memory seemed _wavy._ The trees, the ground covered in shrubs, everything was dancing. He felt like he was about to collapse anytime soon, but he pushed himself up.

"Just a few more steps, Shirou," Rin pleaded him. Her own body was severely bruised. If it weren't for the healing magic she knew, she would have probably in a worse shape. Perhaps _unconscious_.

For some reason the word seemed taboo to Shirou right now. Uttering the word seemed to pull him down to the ground into _unconsciousness_.

"Set her over here," Kuro suggested Tohsaka to a thick line of trees. They have walked far deeper into the deserted area beyond the church in the outskirts of the town. While Rin and Shirou carried the dead woman, Kuro carried his own companion Busso, despite injured himself.

Rin and Shirou shifted the green haired girl's corpse to the thicket Kuro pointed.

The four of them collapsed almost at the same time. It seemed somewhat funny to Shirou how they injured themselves for the dead body, and were now protecting it together. It was an unusual yet temporary alliance.

After agreeing with Kuro's idea, the both of them proceeded to the room that contained the corpse and their respective companions. Rin, to Kuro's surprise was already up. She would have killed him on the spot, if it weren't for Shirou's intervention.

She called Shirou an idiot for that. It was true, but Shirou told her that if Kuro had continued the fight, the winner would have been annihilated by the Executors. It wasn't fair to turn his back on Kuro just because Rin was back up again. That was how they made their escape together.

"I wish I had brought my gems," Rin sighed, as she attempted to close Shirou's wound. There wasn't much progress. Rin was injured herself and she doesn't have her usual gems. The healing barely stopped the bleeding that has pretty much stopped anyway.

Kuro was in a worse position, but it seemed like he had some tricks up his sleeve. He managed to maintain himself from getting worse at least.

Shirou was unsuccessful at that. His consciousness kept fading in and out. Tohsaka constantly slapped him back to attention, but he was barely feeling her slaps now. They felt more like mosquito bites.

"Just stay awake for some time," she whispered in his ears, "I'll contact the association somehow."

Shirou barely had the energy to nod. He decided to conserve it for staying up instead.

A voice said, _"They'll find us, anytime soon." _It was Tohsaka perhaps, he was barely awake to notice all that.

"Yeah," Shirou muttered audible enough for Tohsaka to hear.

"What is it, Shirou?" The teal-eyed girl threw him an inquisitive glance.

Shirou hung his head down again, lacking the energy to do otherwise. "Nothing," he muttered. He felt like someone just talked to him. Judging by the way his brain was playing with him today, he thought it was another hallucination.

"Those freaking Executors," Kuro heaved for breath as he spoke. "I think they'll find us."

"I know," Rin sighed. "We are only buying time to restore our health as much as we can. I wish I could find out a way to contact the association. We should go deeper inside," she suggested.

"I guess," Kuro muttered.

Having listened to what he said, Shirou got up, pushing his brain like a machine. He only needed to stand up, help Tohsaka in carrying the dead body, and walk deeper inside.

Those were the three simply instructions he fed to his brain. Thinking so, he took a step forward, and before he knew, the ground rammed into his face.

* * *

Avalon Bank facility.

Even in their wildest dreams, no one would imagine such a place in the world of the dead. But Lelouch was currently walking out of it, a fat amount of cash in his pockets.

There were a lot of things he could do with the money. He could rent a house, start a business. Or he could buy a house, do a job or something. Lelouch wasn't satisfied with either. Firstly, he hated the concept of working _after_ death. It's downright silly, and extremely pointless.

The sky was turning dark, Lelouch noticed. Another sign of normalcy. This was supposed to be the world of dead, everything must be special. It's really stupid. He's a spirit who should be drifting off happily or at least burned in the depths of hell, considering the amount of people he killed. But this was worse than hell.

"Hey you," someone called him. His eyes met with a burly man in a white over grey formal dress.

It was the cashier from the bank, he recognized. It was perhaps time for him to be relieved from his duty.

The man, who had a brown hair, and a well-built body underneath, didn't look like a banker at all. But this was Avalon, even the greatest warriors of the century do commoners work. The man before him was the perfect example of the absurdity Avalon was.

"I wanted to advise you because you are new in here," the cashier said. "Why don't we have a talk?" He asked, walking away from the bank.

Lelouch silently followed him. The cashier didn't show any signs of getting chummy with him, and he didn't seem to be the kind he should avoid.

"I know this place makes you real uneasy," he said.

"An understatement," Lelouch said.

The cashier smiled at this, "I suppose you prefer to be direct."

Lelouch scoffed.

"Well," the cashier said. "The thing is…most people who became heroes missed a normal life. This was supposed to be compensation to what they missed on earth. Most people yearn for a normal life."

"Not exactly," Lelouch frowned. "People always yearn for what they don't have. A normal person always wants to do something grand, like becoming a hero."

"There's nothing grand about becoming a hero," the cashier grumbled.

"There's nothing great about a normal life either," Lelouch quipped. "It's just the god's way to get back at us, for pushing ourselves past the limits he set for humans."

"You have an interesting theory there," the cashier muttered. "I believe god make us push above ordinary to help people in need."

"I didn't believe in an entity called god till I came to this world," Lelouch said. "But if one exists, I think he's just a sadist who likes to put people in trouble and make them pray for him. The heroes are just tools he sends to play with their hope. Of course, he likes to torment the heroes the most."

"For someone who recently started to believe in god, you thought a lot," he said with a wry smile.

"I think a lot," Lelouch said. "It's my only reliable weapon."

"Well I guess I can't change the way you think," the cashier sighed, before offering him a hand. "Nice meeting you Lelouch Vi Britannia. My only wish is that you don't go down the wrong path like a couple of others over here."

"Trust me, I want to stay out of trouble," Lelouch said effectively faking a smile. _'Not after what I have been through.'_

"I hope so, for your sake." Saying so the cashier turned and headed back. Before he disappeared into the streets he turned back and said, "My name's Maximus, by the way."

Lelouch silently stared at the retreating figure. "The greatest gladiator comes down to this, huh," he muttered. _'How pathetic.'_

* * *

Shirou was engulfed deep inside a sea of fire. Or at least that's what he thought he was in.

It was the same dream.

The dream that haunted him for years. The sea of fire in which he was saved by Emiya Kiritsugu. But this time it seemed different. It felt more real, as if it weren't a dream.

Dreams were always vague. But this…it was more like a reenactment of the scene thirteen years ago.

Shirou walked through the flames, the crushed buildings and the charred dead bodies. It was all too clear for a dream.

What if?

A new fear swept through his mind. What if, the thirteen years of life he had was all just an imagination? What if, he was still the eight year old boy struggling with death?

He observed his body. He was twenty one just as he was a few seconds ago. The redhead sighed in relief with the knowledge. So this was a dream, after all? Where was he? He wondered.

A mystifying voice spoke, _"This is the world that connects both of our consciousness."_

Startled, Shirou looked around. The voice seemed like it came out from the sky.

"Who is that?" He asked, once again checking his surroundings for the owner of the voice.

"_Your friends are in trouble. I believe you must adapt to the situation you are in quickly, so we can finish this over."_

Shirou honestly had no idea what she was speaking about. He checked his left shoulder, only to find _nothing_ in the place of a deep bloody scar made by Kusanagi.

So he was in some kind of a dream? Shirou found it hard to believe but he decided to follow the voice's lead.

"_Good. Normally I would like to show the horrors I faced in my life, but it seems you have faced worst enough. You are ready to make a contract."_

"What contract?" Shirou asked at the empty air.

"_A contract in which I will give you power to beat this men, and you will grant my one single wish in exchange for the power."_

Shirou gulped for a second. What was all this? If he hadn't faced worse situations in the Holy Grail war, Shirou would have definitely expected this to be a dream of some kind. But it wasn't.

"_If you agree to this contract, you will receive the power of the kings. You will receive the strongest Geass: The Geass of Absolute Victory."_

Out of nowhere, knowledge not known to him poured into Shirou's mind. It filled him with information he never knew. The capability of the power the thing called Geass possesses.

The power she wants to give him would make victory absolute. No matter what the situation would be, or what circumstances he would face he would always win. It was like playing a video game with a cheat code. He would never lose because he has the codes. No, in fact this power called _Geass_ would twist fate itself to give him victory.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

"_So, are you willing to accept this contract?" _She asked.

Shirou had already made up his mind for the answer. There's only one answer he could give to a wonderful miracle like that.

* * *

It was strange.

This time, it was not the absurd Avalon, nor the way the world works. Lelouch was talking about himself.

He was waiting outside the same café in which he shared a drink with the guy called Kiritsugu. He was supposedly not interested in anything related to this world. But there was something about the woman that attracted him back. Besides he has nowhere else to go.

Arturia Pendragon. He needed to investigate the story behind her name, and he needed to know what she was doing back in the sunflower field. Curiosity gets the better of you sometimes, they say.

The back door used by the staff finally opened, and the blond woman once again appeared. She was wearing a white over blue skirt this time that had a blue ribbon by the collar. The blue somehow seemed to match her more than the red she wore during the work hours.

Lelouch waited at the corner of the street by the main road. The woman carried a cover in her hand, and walked to the main road, a casual gentle smile on her face.

As she approached the road, she finally took notice of Lelouch. Her expression softened on recognizing him. She approached him, "Good evening," her smile was tender, and it carried the general expression of brightness.

"Good evening," Lelouch said examining her, not moving an inch from the pole he leaned against.

It was uncomfortable for Arturia. She hardly knew the other person, and she didn't know what he was doing at a place like this. At the same time it was impolite to ignore him and walk away.

"Are you waiting for someone?" She asked.

"Yeah," Lelouch replied immediately. "I was waiting for you."

"Me?" There was some surprise in her face.

"Yeah," he offered his hand to her. Hiding a smirk, he spoke, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Lelouch Vi Britannia."

"Britannia?" The woman was astounded.

* * *

C.C was extremely happy. This was the first time in hundreds of years did she face a person like this.

He had the right motivation, in the right direction. He could easily vow his life to others. His life was not of much importance to him.

His heart knew pain, and his goal was to save everyone from it. He knew that his goal to become a hero wasn't just a fancy dress competition and involved killing people for the sake of saving more.

He was an ideal person to receive the Geass.

The power of Geass varied with people. It depended on the goals, or the inherent ability a person possesses. Lelouch gained the capability of putting everyone under his will thanks to his natural charisma. Charles Zi Britannia who obsessed with getting rid of lies from the world had the Geass that could manipulate people's minds. It was the closest power to match with his ideal.

But Shirou's goal was to save _everyone._ An impossible task, and something he could never be able to do, and yet he pushes himself beyond his limits to achieve the impossible goal he set for himself.

The Geass of Absolute Victory.

It was said to be the strongest of all Geass. No other magic or sorcery could stop the user from winning unless it was a high level magic beyond the code itself. There were very few things beyond the power of the code, and none of them existed on earth. The code was an aberration that should have never existed in the real human realm, and yet it did.

This boy Emiya Shirou was the only to have a perfect compatibility with this Geass in six hundred years. No one had _this_ Geass since ages.

Moreover, a selfless person like him wouldn't think twice about granting her wish. Lelouch was too smart to deal with, and his goal had much more importance. She had to let him kill himself.

It wasn't that bad to have ended up in a parallel universe, was it?

"_So, are you willing to accept this contract?" _She answer was obvious. It was more like a rhetorical question.

"I refuse," he said.

Yup, no one can resist—

Wait.

"_What?"_ Did she hear it wrong? C.C wondered.

"I refuse to accept this miracle you want to offer me," he said. "I don't believe in miracles. Every miracle has consequences. I am sorry, but I can't do something like that."

"_Are you an idiot?"_ This was the first time C.C lost her composure in centuries.

The redhead pointed to the image around him, "What do you think is responsible for a massacre like this? A miracle. I won't make the same mistake the people who hunted for miracles did." The boy's voice was firm was absolute.

"_I am giving you a minute to reconsider. Your friends out there are going to die. They are not in a physical position to deal them."_

How did things end up like this? No one ever refused a contract. Not in the hundreds of years she lived.

"No matter how many times you ask me," Shirou's brown eyes were firm. "I refuse."

* * *

Lelouch and Arturia walked along the sparsely crowded seventh street. The latter insisted the former on joining her in a walk back home. The name 'Britannia' piqued her interest. It was Lelouch's intention to do so.

"The name Pendragon," Lelouch asked her. "Are you related to the royalty somehow?"

"Indeed I am," she said, a proud smile on her face. "I was in fact a King during my life."

"You mean, a queen?" He tried to rectify.

Arturia shook her head, "A King, in every sense of the word."

Lelouch's footsteps halted. His purple eyes studied her angelic face. There was no hint of deception in her face. Malice was the last thing you could expect from a face like that.

Or was it her power? To utterly deceive people around her? What if the gentle smile was all a lie?

Normally he wouldn't incline to suspect her. But this was the world of heroes, nothing was impossible.

She placed her hand on her hips and said proudly, "From the legends I am better known as the King of Britain, Arthur Pendragon."

Lelouch stared at her as if he was struck by a lightning. To his credit, his mouth wasn't wide open.

* * *

"_The contract has been cut off," _the voice spoke. _"It seems your consciousness has torn it apart."_

"Well," Shirou said, "I am not interested in a miracle. So, if you let me go, I can go fight for my friends."

There was no response for a minute. The strange voice that has been speaking to him till then was mute.

"Hello?" He asked, hoping for a reply. There was none, for some time at least.

"_No one has ever refused the contract,"_ the voice somehow sounded helpless, or was it his imagination? _"I took the contract acceptance granted. I don't know how to break the link in case of refusal." _The voice said sheepishly.

Shirou couldn't make out anything from what she said. But he understood it meant trouble, somehow. "What does that mean?"

"_You are struck inside this world."_ The voice said it very casually.

It was the biggest nightmare for Shirou.

* * *

The legend of King Arthur.

The story of a man that almost everyone in the world knew. The man who was supposed to have wielded the sword that made him immortal and fended his country from invaders. The man who was treated a legend. That was the great King Arthur.

And here, the woman in front of him proclaims that _she_ was King Arthur.

Absurd.

Lelouch wanted to cut it off. But there was no need for her to lie. This was the world of dead. The woman had hardly any need to bluff about her identity. Even if she's king Arthur or not, her status would remain the same.

So, it was true? It could be. No one in his time saw King Arthur or had any physical proofs of his existence. There was no denying it.

Her age can be explained by the immortality she gained from the sword. If the immortality the sword gives to the holder was similar to how after-death works, then she was in her fittest form. For an older person, he would be the fittest in his youth. But for a growing woman, the strongest was her present. So, she was struck in her age.

"I see," Lelouch muttered. But what if she was really lying. Even if she had no need to lie, it was still a possibility. There's only one way to know.

But it was hardly useful to use Geass on her simply like that. For now it was better to rely on his manipulative skills, Lelouch thought.

"I am quite surprised though," Lelouch said, faking an expression to mirror his words. "I never imagined King Arthur to really exist."

"There's a reason for that," she said. "It is so because you might have come from a parallel universe different from mine."

'_Parallel Universe?'_

Arturia explained, "The people here are not from the same universe. They are from different universes that move parallel to each other."

The news was fresh for Lelouch. It surprised him. How could he _not_ know something so important like that?

"I have a question," he said. "If what you say is correct, then how did I hear about the legend of King Arthur? I belong to a completely different world. Then maybe I shouldn't have ever heard of King Arthur," he pointed out the logical inconsistency in what she said.

Saber smiled at this, as if it were a simple thing to comprehend. "The more a legend's fame is, the stronger is the spirit related to the legend. Very famous legends can spread into other universes through imagination or dreams. What really happened in my universe is actually a work of fiction in yours. The legend of King Arthur is just an ordinary fairy tale from where you have come from."

There was a brief silence between the two. Lelouch had his doubts regarding her name clarified. Arturia was a hero from a world parallel to his. At some point, history diverged into two timelines. It was an acceptable story.

"I see," he muttered casually. His eyes moved onto the bag in her hand. He noticed the extra clothing in her bag. It was the same dress she wore when he was brought to Avalon. It seems it was specially made for the purpose of amplifying her beauty.

"Who were you waiting for?" he asked, a coy smile on his face. "In the sunflower field I mean."

There was a sudden change in her otherwise plain face. The woman who looked distant and yet cheerful, with a bright smile on her lips, turned red, it was an expression unexpected from her.

"I-I…" she looked away, hiding her expression. "I was waiting for a special person."

'_Just as I thought.'_ Lelouch mused. But still there was an absurdity in that statement.

"One more question," Lelouch asked, although he showed no signs of restraining himself. "This person you say, how is it possible for him to come to this place. If my calculations are correct, it has been around fifteen hundred years since your time."

Both Lelouch and Arturia were now seated on a bench by the road. Arturia didn't seem to be the type to openly express her feelings, but Lelouch was a smooth talker.

"Our story is a strange one," Arturia said, her breath wasn't calm. "He belongs to a different time line. We met for a brief period and I fell in love with him." She looked very happy when she said the word love. She was perhaps waiting for ages, to share her feelings with someone. And to openly say that she was in love with the certain someone.

She continued, "There's no proper sense of time in Avalon. I don't know the difference between a hundred years or a thousand," she said as if it were nothing. "Every time I hear a new hero was to arrive, Alaya informs me beforehand. I stand in the field, waiting for him, hoping that I would be the first one to greet him." Her explanation ended with that. She was smiling by the time she finished. The smile was different from the smiles she showed till now. They were all fake. Her story was true, Lelouch analyzed.

Ridiculous. There were many things wrong with it. Now he realized what Kiritsugu meant by 'a girl who constantly lives in a dream'. It also explained why he was desperately trying to hook her up with some one.

The nonchalant look on Lelouch's face disappeared. A frown developed on his face. He asked maintaining his calm voice, "You don't know how long you need to wait till he comes. You don't know if he will come or not. And yet you insist on waiting for him?"

For some reason Lelouch was getting mad at her. She's a fool. There was no guarantee about the fate of this certain person she liked. Anything could happen to him. There were chances that he wouldn't ever be able to set foot on Avalon.

"What if you have to wait forever?" He asked indirectly. "Are you telling that, you will not leave Avalon even if you are relieved of your duty as a Counter Guardian?"

Arturia replied to this with a stoic smile, "I was never a counter guardian to begin with."

'_What?'_

Then why the hell was she in Avalon? It wasn't even twenty four hours since he arrived and he _loathes_ this place from the depths of his heart. How could she stay for more than a millennium, waiting for a guy who _might_ come?

"Even if I had to wait forever," she said after a pause. "The hope that he might come one day is enough for me."

* * *

Tohsaka Rin and Takahashi Kuro were facing their biggest nightmares, the Executors of the Church.

The fight was one sided from the start. The duo left an unconscious Shirou, Busso and a dead green-haired girl and headed into the battle. It was a futile resistance, but it was the most they could do. Running was impossible.

The priest's wore bullet proof suits making Kuro's gun useless. He tried to trace his sword Kusanagi. It made his injury worse, and unable to use the double downgraded noble phantasm.

Rin's situation was worse. The lack of her gems made any high ranked magic impossible. The Executors, no matter how low level they seemed when compared to Kotomine Kirei, were still a good match. In fact, if they were as good as Kirei, she would have been dead by now.

She blamed the situation on Lord El-Melloi. He said it wouldn't be a tough mission. She was partially at fault too, for leaving her beloved gems. She always prepared herself for any situation, and wanted to move on with elegance like her father always wished, but making a fatal yet silly mistake has become a casual habit for her. It was precisely why, after years and years of preparation, she made the worst mistake one could ever make and summoned Archer instead of Saber.

If she were to make this one back alive, she promised herself, she would never _ever_ underestimate any mission.

The three executors stood before them, studying either magus. The Executors had more resistance than they have expected. They weren't the experienced kind. They simply allowed the magus to deal damage among themselves, and then do the cleanup.

All three of them used similar weapons, a modification of the black keys Kirei once possessed.

"I won't die here," Rin mumbled to herself. She was a Tohsaka, and she had a duty to the land she left. She shouldn't die like this, to a random nobody from the church, her pride told so.

She pumped every last ounce of determination into her magical energy and prepared for another round. There were still many moves in her disposal. The priests would definitely be caught off guard if she were to start fighting them in a close range.

It was then the bright light caught their attention.

* * *

"You're kidding me," Shirou knew she wasn't. Her voice, whoever _she_ was, was dead serious.

"_You do know the truth,"_ the voice sighed, _"Our contract may have been broken, but we still share consciousness."_

"Are you telling me that I'll be struck here forever?" He looked at the nightmare, the sea of fire around him. Things can't get more ironic than this.

"_Well, you need not worry," _the voice said tauntingly, _"Those priests with knives will soon finish your friends and kill you next. Then we can bid farewell, I guess."_

"How can you be so cruel?" He exclaimed at the fact that she was putting the dreadful news as if it were something trivial.

"_I am only putting out the facts. It would be the same no matter how I said it. How is that cruel?" _

What the heck was up with her? The way this 'voice' thinks was unusual, and somewhat twisted. There was something fundamentally wrong with the way she thinks.

"I am not going to die like this," Shirou grit his teeth. There was no way this could happen to him. This kind of death was pointless. There should be something he could do.

"_There's nothing you could do. Trust me. I don't want you in me either."_

No, he didn't believe her. If he can't do anything, then he should imagine doing so. That was how Emiya Shirou worked.

Image yourself at your strongest. The only weapon and the only enemy Emiya Shirou has was Emiya Shirou himself.

There was something he could do, to break the links that created the world. If this was a world that connected his consciousness with hers, then the best way would be to cut the contact between them.

He just needs to imagine it. It was _his_ brain after all.

"_What are you doing?"_ Curiosity aroused in her voice.

The world around them was beginning to distort.

It was working.

He doesn't know what could actually break the world apart, but if he imagined it, it would really break. The way Emiya Shirou's brain worked was completely different. It had the capability of putting imaginations into reality; a power when developed to the fullest extent could be strong enough to create a Reality Marble.

Those weren't his words. It was said by the Lord El-Melloi himself. Lord El-Melloi might be constantly making fun of him. Force him to attend classes with eight year olds, but he always said the truth. Emiya Shirou could break whatever force this was, and come out.

"_Oh god, you are twisting the code apart!" _There was a sudden gasp in the girl's voice. She was no longer the distant spectator who simply watched his plight and sent snide remarks. She was genuinely terrified. He could do it!

"_Stop this, I don't know what will happen if you continue like this." _

Two invisible hands came out and tried to shake him out of his imagination. But Shirou was far from giving up. He could do this. He just needs to imagine it a bit more clearly. The more vivid the imagination, the stronger he would be.

"_Stop it, I told you. You are not breaking the code, you are twisting it."_

Shirou didn't heed her words. He need not listen to her. If she were so concerned, then she should have helped him in the first place. He doesn't care if he gets killed in the process, but this was the only way he could break out and save Tohsaka.

As he continued to imagine destroying the link between the two_, _something obstructed him. It was like a dam opposing a river. He needed to break it apart, and flow past it. It was designed to stop him. But if he could imagine it properly, no dam in the world could stop him.

He imagined himself to be a Tsunami. A normal flow can't break the dam, but surely a Tsunami can.

"_Don't."_ The voice was growing weaker. _"You are—"_

The dam broke.

A sudden influx of knowledge filled Shirou. Things he never knew, things he never saw. Walking corpses, the terror of war, the explosion of an atom bomb, the horrors of the world were all dancing before him. It was like someone was recording all the worst moments of human history and put it in front of him.

The destruction, the terror, men killing each other, men hunting one another, betraying each other, men falling prey to natural calamities, wives losing their beloved husbands, children losing their fathers, indiscriminate killing, murder, suicide, rape, accident, all kinds of deaths moved before him.

Death.

It was a simple punishment to those who face it. But to the people who were subjected to the punishment of watching it, it was worse than any pain.

He saw all that, in that moment. Hundreds of years of negative memories filled his brain in just one instant.

In the process of breaking the consciousness he did something he shouldn't have, and he was being punished for it.

It was too much to bear. He couldn't take it anymore. It was the same feeling he was subjected to, when he was dissolved in Angra Mainyu.

'_Save me.'_

For the first time in his life his heart pleaded for help. Emiya Shirou was a self-less man who never cared for himself and always put the lives of others above his. But he was pleading, to be saved. His heart searched for something that could relieve him off the pain. Something that could save him from the mass of painful visions.

A vision flashed in his mind. It was the blonde beauty that stood by the sunset, who uttered the last words before her departure, "Shirou, I love you."

"S-Saber…" The only hope he could ever hang on. The only thing that made Emiya Shirou selfish. The only reality in the life of a faker like him was the one person—

He knew she was somewhere far away. He knew it was impossible for them to share a life together. He knew that he couldn't show his affection to her. But the fact that she loved him, the fact that Saber loved him, it was enough. It was enough for him, to push himself to the extremes, to death, to reach the impossible ideal, to be a hero.

Shirou opened his eyes at once.

The sea of evil he was drowned in no longer existed. He was lying on the ground, looking at the dark sky, covered by the thicket.

He managed to break himself out of the world of consciousness, he realized.

The ring of knives caught his attention. Tohsaka and Kuro were fighting the Executors.

This was no time for Emiya Shirou to lie down, he told himself.

* * *

"The hope that he might come back one day, is enough for me."

The words irritated Lelouch the most. It doesn't concern him. He vowed never to pry into anyone else's matters once he entered Avalon. He didn't want to care about anyone else. He wanted to be as selfish as he wanted to be. It was a slight compensation for what Alaya was doing to him.

And yet, he was here, angry at a woman he never met till today, for things that don't concern him.

This girl's stupid. She's crazy. A fool. That's right, she's a fool. And she calls herself, King Arthur? He asked, "How do you know that he hasn't changed since you parted with him?"

"What do you mean?" It seems the question never occurred to the foolish girl.

"What if he fell in love with someone else?" He asked.

He hit the nail. Lelouch saw defeat in her face. "I-I never thought about that," she said.

"I am not insulting the person you love or something," he said. "That's the way things work in life. People don't stay and cry for the past. They move on." Lelouch knew this the best. He lost his mother when he was young, and he was banished to Japan. He didn't cry for the past forever, he moved on. The world doesn't let people mull about the past. It forces them to move on. It was how things worked. "He might love you the most, but you might not be the only woman in his life. Eventually he would move on. Fall in love, marry, and father someone else. You are dead, he's not."

Lelouch saw the woman's softened eyes, "I never thought about it," she said. Lelouch sighed in relief for a second. He managed to convince her or so he thought. She continued, "Nor do I plan to think about it." She was hopelessly stubborn. It was _his_ stupidity to try to make her think otherwise.

"I am sorry," Lelouch sighed, giving up. He had gone overboard. What she loves was her business. "I crossed my line."

"Yes, you did," the woman said coldly. It only made him chuckle. There was no convincing her.

But for now, she doesn't seem to be angry at him.

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" He asked. After the conversation, he somehow felt acquainted with her. The first person Lelouch introduced himself to, was an ancestor of his, from a parallel world. It was odd, but so was the rest of Avalon. "I need a place to stay."

The woman contemplated for a second. "Normally I wouldn't care about people who pry into my private matters but, I shall make you an exception because you are Kiritsugu's fault." She said pretending to be angry at the man from before.

"Thanks," he chuckled. "Nice meeting you, King Arthur."

"Likewise, Lelouch Vi Britannia."

The couple shook hands. It was the birth of a new relationship for Lelouch. The first one he forged after death.

* * *

The machine named Emiya Shirou woke up. The parts were damaged, and needed to be repaired. But the machine moved with a renewed determination as its fuel.

The machine's presence startled the rest of them in the midst of the fight. But it moved forward. It had no hope to put a proper fight, or to win. It would be destroyed by the three enemies with ease. But it didn't care about that.

"Emiya-kun!" Tohsaka was startled. "You shouldn't have—"

Her words were paused for some reason. But the machine didn't understand why. He didn't care about it either. His only aim was to defeat the enemies, and protect Tohsaka.

"Trace On."

It was like a switch to the machine. The machine's weapons automatically appeared in its hands.

"Let's finish this quickly," the priest in the middle said to the other two. He wasn't happy with the fact that one more popped up into the battle.

"Emiya-Kun, your eyes—" Rin called him. Shirou ignored her.

The priest before him prepared to throw a Black Key at Shirou. The redhead looked rusty, and an easy target, and a mild hindrance to the priest.

But the machine wasn't thinking all that. It simply reacted to the enemy's move. It didn't know if the injured parts were further ruptured by the movement, it didn't care for the consequences. It simply threw the sword called Kansho in response to the Priest's move.

The two blades collided in the air. It was a simple collision between a sword and a knife. Nothing should have happened. The swords should have simply fallen down with a clang.

But something else happened.

The swords exploded on collision, as if a bomb was fitted inside the sword. The impact of the explosion was more on the Executor's side, throwing them astray.

The machine made its second move efficiently; it tossed the second sword Bakuya in the midst of the explosion. The sword landed between straight on the Executor's chest. It should have simply killed him, but it did something more. The Executor exploded into pieces, catching the remaining two in the process.

"E-Emiya-kun?" Tohsaka stuttered. She had no clue what happened. Neither did the machine called Shirou.

The smoke cleared, revealing three charred bodies in place of the priests. It was an overwhelming destruction. The machine couldn't comprehend what happened. It knew only one thing, the threat was gone.

He turned around, "We won, Tohsaka," he said with a weak voice before finally collapsing again.

* * *

Shirou opened his eyes once more. Another unfamiliar ceiling. It has been thirteen years since his first experience of waking up under an unfamiliar ceiling, but he constantly faced it now. He was getting familiar with the unfamiliarity. It was ironic, but so was his life.

"You are finally up," a plump brown haired woman greeted him. She was Ms. Stella, he identified. She was one of the excellent healers in the Magus Association. She was considered a valuable asset and always had a body guard assisting her. There was something wrong with her healing him though. Ms. Stella only healed people who were deemed noble by the Magus Association. He was definitely far from being one.

"Where's Tohsaka?" He asked. His shoulder was wrapped with bandages all over. The mana he lost also seemed to be partially restored.

"I'll call her," she said, moving out of the room.

Seconds later, Tohsaka was inside. She was in her usual red over black. There were signs of bruises on her face; otherwise she seemed to be all right.

Her expression seemed ambiguous. There was concern in her face, and at the same time, she looked like she was pissed off. But over all she was soft. It was a saving grace for Shirou.

"How do you feel?" She asked, holding his arm.

"I thought I wasn't allowed in here," he said. The so called healing he was being provided was inside a special department. Very few had access to it. The Magus strongly believed in ranks. Magus with no name and skill like him were never allowed here.

"I don't care," Rin muttered, staring at the open sky beyond the window. The pissed off part seemed to dominate this time over the concerned part. "I think they will disinherit me anyway."

"What?" Shirou felt as if someone jabbed him. He clearly remembered defeating the Executors. Did Kuro—

"Even the rogue magus seemed to be surprised," Rin said. Rogue Magus? Kuro?

"What happened?" He asked.

"It's completely strange," she said. "The dead body we were supposed to recover just disappeared."

"What?" He exclaimed weakly, "Did Kuro take it away?" Shirou asked.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "We were there all along. I didn't sense anyone else come by. It just disappeared. He was stunned too."

Shirou rested his head a little. Thinking too much was hurting his head. "Have you talked to Lord El-Melloi about this?" He asked.

"Yeah," she muttered. "He said he would look into it. There will also be a panel to discuss my future."

"I am sorry," he released the breath he seems to be unconsciously holding.

She clasped his hand tightly, "It's not your fault, Shirou," she looked like she was smiling, but her teal eyes told him she was in deep stress.

Shirou looked at the unfamiliar ceiling once more. It was getting more familiar as he continued to watch it.

"Shirou," Rin brought him back to attention. "What happened while we were fighting the Executors?"

"What do you mean?" His brain felt blank. The only thing that he remembered was that he beat the three priests.

Thinking of which reminded him—why did Kansho and Bakuya explode on making contact with the enemies?

Noticing the blank expression on his face, Tohsaka moved closer to his ear and whispered, "I haven't told this to anybody but I think I sensed a high level sorcery before you woke up. It's off the record for now."

Shirou blinked at her strangely, "Why would you hide that?" They were sent to investigate it in the first place. The information could probably save Rin from being disinherited.

She pointed her finger at him, "Because what you did next was stranger. Your eyes looked different, and your prana was off the charts. I could tell this to him if you like to end up as the Clock Tower's test subject for the rest of your life. I think it's better if we don't discuss about it for now."

It was true that what Kansho and Bakuya did to them was strange. But if what she said was really true, then he would really be in a big mess. The Magus were known for their hunger for knowledge. If they were to figure that he had some strange power inside him, then his life would become a living hell.

Tohsaka was a magus herself, and she was in a deep rut. Yet, she considered her friendship over her pride as a magus. Shirou knew what she did was something he should be grateful forever.

"Tohsaka," he called the black-haired magus.

"Do you want anything?" She asked.

"Thank you," he said from the depths of his heart.

"Eh—" Rin was taken aback. Then she sighed, "One of these days, Shirou. I think I'm going to fall for that naïve side of yours."

She wasn't lying, Shirou knew.

* * *

**AN: **A lot of questions have been left unanswered. The major ones like what happened to Shirou might have caught your attention, but do not forget that there are many other important questions like who is Takahashi Kuro, how did C.C end up in a parallel universe etc. have not been answered yet. Don't worry, I won't leave anything, and even if I do you people can demand me for it.

Now there are a couple of things I want to clarify first.

I haven't found a canonical rule as for how the nature of Geass for a person would be determined. So, I made my own version up. But hey, if you guys do know something I don't, then point it out. I am pretty sure I have lesser knowledge than someone who is a CG/Type-moon fan and have more in depth info. In fact if you are really keen on helping me out, you can be a BETA reader for me. My grammar may not be excellent, but I try my best to avoid mistakes, so I have that part more or less covered.

* * *

**_Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!_**

Kusanagi is an Ex-ranked Noble Phantasm when used by the original wielder of the sword. But as the Takahashi researched on the sword, they realized that performing sorcery of such level was beyond their limits, and decided to create a B and C ranked version of the phantasm, implying that the Kusanagi used by Kuro was a modified form of the original sword.

Also, the Takahashi only passed down the Magic Crest only to children with an affinity to the wind element; it enabled them to wield Kusanagi with ease and use it to the fullest extent.

All of this is extra info, I decided to write down for my sake. But I put it up, in case you people want to have a look.


	4. Gambling in Avalon

**A/N: Another chapter served hot. I have been doing some study on the 'complete material' of Fate/Stay Night. Some new concepts and few old have been cleared up for me. I am introducing a character from the Fate franchise. But the character doesn't appear in F/SN and I haven't played Ataraxia or Extra. I did my best to portray her. **

**4. Gambling in Avalon**

"I am surprised you have recovered so quickly," Ms. Stella adjusted her spectacles, as she examined Shirou. "You are more than fit." She said tapping his shoulders.

"It's all thanks to your healing, ma'am," Shirou said, attempting to bow slightly.

Ms. Stella carefully removed the rest of the bandages. "Well I suppose," She said, "But even a high ranked Magus's body would find it hard to keep up with my healing. Normally it would take two days for the injuries to heal. It's like you are used to this level of healing," she finally freed Shirou of the bandages.

Well what she said was true. Shirou was accustomed to Avalon's healing, and the injuries he suffered in the Holy Grail war were more than fatal. But it was not safe to tell her about it. To the rest of the magus association Shirou was just an ordinary novice Rin had taken in as an apprentice. Only Rin and Lord El-Melloi were the ones who knew that he participated in the fifth Holy Grail war.

"I find it amusing though," the plump woman said, looking into Shirou's eyes as if she were scanning him. "I don't think the Japanese magi are _this_ proficient. Maybe it's just that your body is strange."

She was being judgmental, but it was for his benefit. Many a times, the general level of arrogance around here saved Shirou more than once. "Yeah," he smiled nervously. "I was never healed by someone of your level ma'am."

The woman nodded in satisfaction. "Since all of this is off the record, you can just walk out right now."

"Let me help you clean first," Shirou pointed to the tray that contained the medical waste. The medicines used on him were strange, and he never saw something like those in his life before. Then again, he was never treated by a professional healing magus.

"Good," the woman smiled at his humble attitude. Something that was rarer than a jewel in the association. In fact jewels were common.

Tossing the waste in the garbage outside the building, Shirou walked back towards the campus's main building. He could have thrown in it a nearby dustbin inside the building, but all of them would fall in trouble if someone inspects them in the worst case.

Although the Association's main offices are located deep inside the Clock Tower, the campus designed for research and education purpose was located far away from London. It was said to be the second headquarters next to the clock tower.

The campus itself was larger than any of your ordinary universities. There was always a good chance for ordinary people to try getting an admission. Which was precisely why, one would need at least seven recommendation letters from established magus to get an admission inside. For an apprentice like himself there was no such need.

Basically he was like Rin's little dog, or at least that was what Luvia described him as. As long as he stayed close to her, no one would throw stones at him. The description might be disturbing, but Shirou couldn't help but admit that it was accurate.

Speak of the devil.

As Shirou walked away from the garbage dump and walked towards the Norwich dormitory, his gaze was met up with none other than Luviagelita Edelfelt.

The woman was accompanied by a handsome brown haired guy. Shirou didn't remember his name, but he knew the other would return the favor too.

"At least, the apprentice knows his place," Luvia laughed haughtily. Shirou realized she was talking about him dumping the waste. He would have been infuriated by a comment like that if he didn't know the fact that Luvia was actually a good person underneath. She simply despises Tohsaka and slanders him only for that reason. Knowing her, the comment was just a greeting to start a conversation.

"Good morning, Luvia," he greeted back.

The girl was slightly disturbed by his indifference to her comment, and felt sorry by extension. It was a daily cycle for Shirou. "Shero," she said, getting straight into business. "I heard Miss Tohsaka's in deep trouble. You guys screwed up a simple assignment it seems." Although she said so in a condescending manner, there was some seriousness in her voice. "How could she call herself my rival if she can't even handle simple things?" Her eyebrows twitched. It was as if Rin insulted her or something.

"Well it wasn't her fault," Shirou came to his master's defense. "I was the one who screwed it up."

"It still doesn't matter," she shrugged. "If you screw up then it's her fault too. Listen," she said poking her index finger at his chest. "Tell her that I won't be able to forgive if she gets disinherited. Do you get what I say?" She glared Shirou into nodding a yes. "And—" her voice softened this time. "If you guys need any help from me," she mumbled the sentence. "Well, you can ask me for help."

'_Wow.'_

Luvia caring about Tohsaka? The world might end anytime soon, Shirou sent silent prayers to all the gods he knew.

Luvia who apparently noticed the strange expression on Shirou's face hissed in anger. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She looked like she was about to punch him anytime. "The only reason I want to support her is because I want to defeat her myself, okay?!" She took a step forward, and inched dangerously close towards him.

The redhead panicked at her advancement, "Ah, of course, of course," Shirou covered himself just in case she might plan to punch him. Both Rin and Luvia's punches were not to be underestimated; he learnt it the hard way.

With that Luvia turned around, and stomped her way towards the Norwich dormitory. The brown haired apprentice behind her simply smiled at Shirou and followed her inside.

Still it was good to know that Luvia wasn't the one behind Rin's troubles. Then who was it?

Someone was conspiring on the Tohsaka family. Judging by motivations, it should be some high profile Japanese magus family. Fuyuki was a rich land and possessing ownership over such a powerful place would mean a lot. Besides, they would have a significant advantage over other families in the Holy Grail wars.

The fifth Holy Grail war has been majorly manipulated by Kotomine Kirei, but in the previous wars the Tohsaka family made far. There was never a clear winner, but the Tohsaka were always close to winning. It was only natural to take the family's position as the owner of the land.

That old man Tokiomi sure left a lot on his daughter's head, Shirou mused.

Thus, worrying about the troubles surrounding them Shirou walked towards Room 526 in the dormitory. Not once did it strike to him that there was a bigger trouble that he should be thinking about, and he should be more concerned about it right now. Until he reached Rin's room at least.

Shirou knocked the door with a number plate 526 fixed to it. If ordinary people were around here, then the number plates would go missing within a day. Why? Because they were made of pure gold. Everything in the magus association was extravagant. Everything right from the dorms to the bath room facilities, from class rooms to ball rooms. Money was something these people spend like water.

The door finally opened, and a familiar face greeted him. "Shirou, they discharged you already?"

"Yeah, the doctor was surprised too," he said letting himself into Rin's room. Calling it a room was under describing it. Calling it an apartment would be more apt. But the word 'apartment' was generally treated on the same level as 'poor' in the Association. It's safer to call it a room. In fact both Rin and Shirou share the room. It was a magus's duty to look after the apprentice after all.

"There are a couple of things we must discuss first Shirou," she said locking the door from inside.

"Yeah, I have been thinking about it too," Shirou said. "I think it's one of those other families in Fuyuki."

"Huh," she looked at him dumbfounded. There was a sudden change in her face expression, "Shirou, tell me what exactly were you thinking about?"

The look on her face told Shirou one thing: He did something wrong. "Um," he scratched his head sheepishly, "About who was plotting behind your back."

A huge explosion was then heard through the halls of Norwich dormitory. It didn't take a second guess for them all that it came from Tohsaka Rin's room.

* * *

"Lelouch-san."

A distinctly soft noise disturbed Lelouch. His eyes were heavy, and his body was lethargic. The soft blanket covering him was warm, and seemed like heaven. His feet stuck out of the blanket. The air outside was extremely cold. Unable to bear it, he pulled them under the blanket.

"Lelouch-san."

There was yet another knock on the door. Lelouch barely opened his eyes. Sunlight already filled the room through the tinted window. It was annoying.

Knock. Knock.

The pestering soft knocks on the door were beyond annoying. It was cold outside, in fact _very _cold. It must be the winter—

His thoughts stopped when his half-sleepy brain registered that he was dead, and was in after world. Seasons don't exist on Avalon.

He pulled the blanket off him, and sat up. With the blanket removed, he felt the full force of the cold. It wasn't cold enough to make him shiver, but was compelling enough to wear a jacket.

He looked around, and realized that the only dress he was left with was his school dress, which he was currently wearing.

Strange.

Why didn't he realize it sooner? Perhaps, the shock of being in the world of dead made him forget what he wore.

Could there be a definite explanation as for why he was left with this particular dress?

First of all. He loathed the fact that he felt asleep in the first place. He was supposed to be dead. Why would he sleep in the world of dead? Another thing made him loathe more, he was feeling _hungry._

The thoughts that crept into his mind and the simple fact that he was dead in the first place made him mad. It spoiled his morning completely.

"Lelouch-san," a voice called him.

The room he slept it in was crazy small. Calling it a room was a sin. Calling it a box was more appropriate. There was only enough place for a bed, a couple of racks for his belongings, and a small table.

Whoever it was, he must have been put them on waiting for too long. Having realized that, he went for the door and latched it open. Waiting for him outside was—

A beautiful angel that made him forget all the anger in his head at once.

The frown on his face disappeared at once. A simple smile on the face of that person shook him out of any negative thoughts and revitalized him. If the rising sun gives you a morning with its bright smile, the smile on the girl's face would bring you a—

"Good morning," she said.

"Good morning," he replied, opening the door for her to walk in.

The woman named Arturia walked inside. Although she was familiar with room, she spent a second to examine her surroundings before settling down on the chair nearby.

Lelouch closed the door and sat on the bed.

"I have brought breakfast," she showed a cover that she was holding till then. "Since this is your second day, I thought it would deem appropriate to treat you till you adapt yourselves."

"Thanks," he smiled. "It's really generous of you."

He didn't observe her much till then, but she was really beautiful. Her eyes, her hair, they all seem to mesh in perfectly. In fact if he wasn't used to beautiful women in the form of his sisters, her mere presence would have made him blush.

"Although," she said handing him the cover. "I…" she paused. There was a sheepish smile on her face, and she kept fiddling with her fingers.

A sign of embarrassment.

"I actually brought enough food for the both of us," she scratched her hair. "I realized I was too hungry and I took a bit from your share."

Lelouch suddenly felt the cover's weight. It was in fact heavy. "You actually brought a lot," Lelouch said, "I can even manage lunch with this."

"Oh," her face brightened with that.

Which brought one fact to question: Just how much does this woman eat for breakfast?

Lelouch decided not to ask, and he trusted his judgment very much.

"I think I need a bath first though," he muttered. It wasn't a bad idea to bath before you eat, even if you were dead.

"I agree," Arturia nodded. "Eating on a fresh mind certainly makes the food delicious and enjoyable. I concur with your decision."

The way she reacts to anything related to food was well…diligent. Lelouch found it awkward to put the word diligent and food together, but it describes this woman perfectly.

Another doubt cropped up Lelouch's mind: How does she maintain her physical stature when she eats a day's food for breakfast. Does this have something to do with the way Avalon works? With those things in mind Lelouch proceeded for the bath.

Fortunately, no matter how cramped up the room was, the bathroom was in fact good. It was better than his bedroom at least. It was ironic, but so was the rest of Avalon.

Arturia provided him everything except fresh clothing. He decided it was better to wear the same clothes again. Stinking they maybe, but they were _his_ clothes. Lelouch decided this after checking the physique of everyone else around his room in the apartment. The only person's clothes that would fit him were Arturia's, and he wasn't keen on wearing a frock.

After bath came breakfast which was undoubtedly extravagant considering his appetite.

"Thanks for the breakfast," he said as he finished. His stomach was full. It has been days since he had a pleasant meal, even counting the days he was an Emperor or the days he was the C.E.O of black knights. Whether it was nervousness, or sheer pressure from the events that took place, he barely ate anything in his last days. On the day of his death, he hardly ate anything. The fact that he was going to die, and the fact that he planned for his own murder made him lose the little appetite he had.

"You seemed to like the food," Saber smiled. Having a voracious appetite, she knew the enjoyment when having a good meal.

Lelouch smiled in satisfaction. For some reason his brain was having positive thoughts with this woman around. He did _realize_ it before but now he _understood_ how much he changed ever since he formed the contract with C.C. He had faced the worst situations possible, the worst one being threatening to kill Nunnally and her openly declaring her resent for his actions.

He had reached the bottom, and there was only thing left, the top. And here he was, in the world of dead, with the presence of a beautiful smile that rivaled Nunnally's.

"The food seems to be Japanese style," Lelouch said, "And you were calling me Lelouch _-san_ earlier. Did you visit Japan sometime?"

"I did," she said. "Not when I was alive, but as a heroic spirit."

But she wasn't a counter guardian. She could have volunteered for it maybe. And then—

"You fell in love in Japan?" He asked, somewhat teasingly.

Arturia silently nodded. Her face was red at the mention of the word love. It was a cute scene to watch. "So you have learned Japanese cuisines to impress him?" He taunted.

The woman's face became crestfallen at that. "I didn't cook the food. I have bought the food from a nearby restaurant that sells earthly dishes." She said after a brief pause, "Shirou's an excellent cook. He can cook enough for ten people. So I needn't worry cooking. If anything, I'll only be in his way."

So her boyfriend cooks for her? A woman with an appetite and her boyfriend who can charm her with his cooking. It somehow sounded funny to Lelouch. He tried to restrain his laugh to a smile but ended up laughing aloud. It was completely out of his character to do so, but today he was feeling particularly cheerful.

"What's so funny about it?" Arturia who was definitely offended fought back.

"I'm sorry," he said trying to stop his laughter. "I just want to meet your boyfriend sometime."

"I cannot tolerate this behavior from you, Lelouch," she pursed her lips. Her expression was anything but intimidating.

The restrained laugh was now a smile on Lelouch's lips. "You forgot the honorific," he teased her. "Some Japanese wife you are."

Saber pursed her lips further at his comment. She was defeated and hence looked away from Lelouch and glared at the walls.

"I was just kidding," he sighed. He learnt two things. Arturia was sensitive on the love and food subjects, and she's quick to forgive anyone. "So Shirou is your boyfriend's name, huh."

"Well," she was fiddling with her fingers once more. "He isn't technically my, um…"

"Boyfriend," Lelouch said the word for her. Gosh, she's more of a teenager than a King.

She continued, "We haven't made a proper pact, and I said my true feelings only when we were about to be separated."

Lelouch lay back on the bed casually and said, "I'd like to listen to the full story sometime."

She nodded, "Thank you. You're the only person who has ever said that."

She wants a friend to share, huh. It seems not everyone in Avalon were as free as Lelouch.

Lelouch wasn't particularly interested in her story. He only wanted to talk with someone because his heart was feeling empty. He had faced this before, but this time Lelouch didn't have the hope called Nunnally's happiness to quench his loneliness, instead he was amusing himself with Arturia's story.

Avalon was shit.

"You'll be leaving for work?" He asked her, as she stood up to leave.

"Will you accompany me?" She asked. "We could perhaps browse around for any jobs."

It was a wonderful offer but—

"No," he said. This wasn't like him at all. An ordinary job, an ordinary after-life, that wasn't what _he_ would do. He had to search around, find something that can actually be challenging. "I'll do it on my own. It's not like I don't appreciate your help—"

"You need not explain yourselves, Lelouch," Arturia said. "Do whatever you wish to do. It is not wrong to have pride."

The wonderful part, Arturia was an understanding person.

"Let's meet in the evening again," she said. With that the woman left, with the same smile on her face.

Arturia was in fact happier. She had never been in proper love. So sharing her feelings somehow felt good. Shirou, she muttered the name. "What are you doing now?" She asked the image of the boy in her heart. How many more centuries should she wait?

* * *

Shirou was currently at gun point—or at finger point. It was threatening considering the finger belonged to Tohsaka Rin.

"Why are you so stupid?" She demanded an answer. It was not something he could answer. Actually can anyone answer a question like that?

"Tohsaka," he gently pulled her finger off his forehead. "Like I said, my memories on yesterday were fuzzy. So, I don't exactly remember what happened. Is that really serious?"

"Of course it is," she yelled with a tone that could potentially tear his ear drums apart. "What part of 'your prana was off the charts' did you not understand?"

"Like I said," Shirou sighed, "My memory's kinda fuzzy. Why don't you ask Lord El-Melloi about it?"

At that, Rin threw him a dirty look, "Do you really like to end up as a test subject for your entire life? I don't think it comes under your 'save your lives' agenda."

"But," he interjected, "Lord El-Melloi isn't a bad guy." Although he constantly tormented Shirou, he doesn't seem to have evil intentions at least. "He kept my _possible_ Reality Marble and Holy Grail participation a secret."

Rin rubbed her forehead at this, "Shirou, stop being naïve. It isn't about good or bad, it has to do with opportunity. If there's a great chance that you have the potential to unlock something beyond ordinary magic then I don't think he will be _that_ considerate. Or to simply put it in your terms, he isn't a bad guy, but no magus would ignore something like that."

What she says make sense but—

A cunning smile formed on Shirou's lips, "Why are you helping me out then, Tohsaka?"

Rin didn't waste a second in comprehending the hidden meaning in the question. A small smile formed on Rin's lips. It may seem like a simple kind smile, but it wasn't. "What is it, Emiya-Kun? Could you repeat your question once again?" Rin asked, with extra softness in her voice.

Only an amateur would do that, Shirou didn't dare say aloud. The redhead certainly knew how dangerous Rin's smile could be. "So, you are saying its better if we find it by ourselves?" He expertly diverted the topic.

"Something like that," she said falling into deep thought. "Shirou, why don't you try remembering what happened yesterday first? Lord El-Melloi might call you for questioning any time so it's better if we prepare your version and clear your memory at the same time. We can think about that absurdity of yours later."

"Two birds with one stone, huh," Shirou muttered closing his eyes.

So what exactly happened yesterday?

He was abruptly kicked awake by Tohsaka at around 4 AM. It was a rare scene because she never got up earlier than him. Before he could even have a proper grasp of what was happening, he happened to notice that Tohsaka's night dress was—

No, that's not important. What's more important was that Lord El-Melloi was waiting for them in the living room. It was the Lord himself, not some annoying assistant. An hour later they were on a train to Valvale, and three hours later they were in the town.

They found a bounded field made to stop the civilians for getting to the church. Then the dead girl in the Church, Takahashi Kuro, their fight—

"Wait a minute," he muttered.

Rin who was in her own thought world asked, "Did you find anything strange?"

He said, "I actually have a couple of questions regarding Kuro, and also my projection." There were many things strange about Kuro, like how he could project swords, and the Takahashi family, and most importantly the image of Caliburn seemed to disappear from his mind.

"If you have a lot," she took a couple of papers from the desk nearby and handed them to him, "Write them down. Then we can sort out what we can ask him and what we should hide."

Tohsaka herself was pre-occupied with many questions it seems. She was making her own list.

His brain then spent remembering things and plowing more questions out of them. As he recollected things, he realized his memories weren't hazy but rather the part that was hazy actually seemed like a dream.

He barely remembered what happened in the dream. The important things he could figure out were the sea of fire, and the strange voice. He didn't remember the content but the word 'Geas' kept popping in his mind.

In fifteen minutes he completed the list. He could squeeze about ten questions or so. Which was quite a lot considering it was one day. There was a good reason for Rin to worry about it.

"I'm done," he said putting the paper forward.

Rin dropped her own pen and took the paper. She glanced at him once, perhaps surprised by the number of questions. "Hmm," she said scanning the paper. "You have a lot of questions for a hazy memory." She 'hmm'-ed again as she read the questions.

"Regarding Takahashi Kuro and his projections," Rin said shifting to her own paper. "I have my own theory about it but it's better if you verify this with Lord El-Melloi. For some reason he has a good knowledge about Japanese magi and workshops. "

"Even Rogue Magus?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Especially Rogue Magus," she said.

Apparently Lord El-Melloi has too much free time, or he could have a special interest in the rogue magus of Japan. Someday Shirou wanted to know why that man hates Japanese so much.

"As for why you can't trace Caliburn properly," she thought for a second. "Honestly I can't think much. I think Lord El-Melloi would answer your questions better, considering he's the only one who can comprehend _your_ style of magic."

It was true that Lord El-Melloi was the only one who knows Shirou's true abilities but…_'Man, I really hate that guy,_' Shirou didn't like the concept of speaking with him. The feeling was mutual, Shirou sensed through his constant sarcastic remarks.

"And this dream thing you say," Tohsaka continued, "Take it off. Other than that, I think we're good."

"Are you really sure about hiding that part?" Shirou was still not convinced. "You can still save your title."

"I would rather be a bad magus than turn my back on someone who saved me more than once," her decision was final. "Besides," she said cheering him up. "I still have a good chance fighting back for it."

A knock on the door disrupted the silence that stood after that. Rin answered the door.

"Lord El-Melloi is summoning your apprentice, if you please." A courteous voice spoke.

Shirou knew it was his cue.

As Shirou headed out of the room, to meet the Lord he dreaded, Rin called him, "Emiya-kun, just in case you might try something stupid, I have selected you as my date for the dance ceremony."

The news reddened Shirou. Once in a year, the students' performance during that period would be evaluated and will be re-assigned into ranks. Since the Magus Association like to waste money on everything, as Shirou honestly believed so, they organize a rather _expensive_ party for the ceremony. Most people around his age generally decide their life-partners through the dance. It could be called romantic, but honestly, in the magus association everything including romance would be done for family name or blood lines or fame, none of which were remotely romantic.

But considering the number of proposal's Rin got, he actually expected her to dance with someone handsome, rich and talented enough for her. But for her to choose him, it's just a once in a life time opportunity. He always had a crush on Tohsaka since school days, and it only doubled since he came to London and began living in the same dorm room. So basically, for him this was—

"I'm looking forward for it, Tohsaka," he gave a thumb-up. With renewed energy he dashed towards Lord El-Melloi's office.

* * *

The first street was as crowded as any shopping district on earth would be.

Lelouch felt lost in the sea of crowd. Not one face was familiar to him. It was a wrong turning on his part. He didn't have a particular destination, and so decided to do everything spontaneously, something he always wished to do. It's good to be like Suzaku once in a while.

But in the end, he had once more learned the moral lesson that one can only be himself.

There were a couple of options as for where he could go from where he stood. There's a restaurant nearby where he could have the lunch, but lunch was the least of his concerns. There was a bar right next to it, in fact run by the same franchise.

He wanted to taste Avalon's wine, considering Kiritsugu's comments. Perhaps not everything was terrible about Avalon, Lelouch criticized.

The crowd around the bar was unusually high. People kept pouring in an out of the tinted glass doors that were constantly being opened and closed by two guards. It was amusing considering it was daytime. If it were like this in the daytime then the situation in the nights would be much worse. Lelouch shuddered at the thought.

He didn't notice it till then until the person was too close, but amidst the crowd who were all wearing good-looking fancy dresses, a lone person in relatively ragged clothing approached him.

A red headband was visible below his hair that ended as disheveled bangs. He wore an orange shirt filled with holes, and faded jeans. He stood out among the hundreds of Avalonese, just by his dressing style.

This person walked with brisk steps, apparently not noticing Lelouch who stood in his path. The raven haired would have attempted to move away from his path if it weren't for the crowd.

Everything happened fast. The headband guy hit Lelouch before he could attempt to stop him; Lelouch felt something move swiftly through his pocket. Lelouch quickly responded by jabbing his fingers into the wallet that was partially crept out of the other guy's pockets, and plucked it out. Lelouch's moments weren't as eloquent as the headband guy's but there was nothing he could do in reply to Lelouch's movement. Surprisingly, the other person's wallet was fatter than Lelouch's. It was a fine transaction.

Either of them halted at once. Either of them exchanged a smirk, "It seems our wallets got mixed up," the other guy said handing back Lelouch's wallet.

"I see," Lelouch took back his wallet, and returned the wallet he stole.

"You're a different guy," he brushed through his ruffled hair. "Nice to meet ya," he said lending Lelouch an arm.

Lelouch hesitated for once before shaking his hand. Anyone would, if the person standing before you tried to pickpocket you a few seconds ago.

"The name's Hector," he said with a small smile. "Not the Hector from Troy by the way. I am a different guy, just a C.G."

Lelouch learned the difference between a counter guardian and a _true_ Heroic spirit last night from Arturia. True Heroic spirits were not bound completely by Alaya, and can roam as free spirits. Counter Guardians however were bound to Avalon. True Heroic spirits have dwindled since the past few centuries, instead thousands of Counter Guardians poured in from different worlds.

"Lelouch Lamperouge," he introduced himself. He had no reason to be Vi Britannia if he was more attached to this name.

"That was my first time," he laughed uneasily, "Sorry. I am in a deprived state actually."

"I don't call that deprived," Lelouch pointed out the fact that Hector's wallet was in fact fatter.

"Oh," he laughed, looking at his own wallet. "I am actually in a crisis," he leaned closer. "I was caught cheating in a game."

'_Game?'_

An uncomfortable silence breezed between them before Hector broke it again.

"Look, you seem to be a smart guy and—" he gave Lelouch a cheeky smile, "You don't seem to have a job," he said as if he exposed a dirty secret.

"And how do you know that?" Lelouch asked, maintaining his usual aloof expression.

"I have been watching you," Hector said with a smile that exposed his numerous teeth, "You're wandering aimlessly. And you don't seem to be shopping either. If my guess's right, you're a newbie."

His deduction wasn't half-bad, Lelouch thought. "So you were sketching me, so that you could talk to me. You weren't originally planning to steal."

"I knew you're the right man Lelouch," Hector patted Lelouch's shoulder. "Yes, but if you weren't smart enough, I would have gone away with your money. What I said wasn't a lie. I need to recruit a guy in compensation to my debts. I trailed you from Fountain's Square."

In summary, he wanted Lelouch in for some sort of gambling. That's the only way one would incur debts through a _game_.

Gambling, what a nostalgic offer. Something he did before he found a stronger opponent in the form of Britannia. Rivalz used to be the one searching for deals back then, and ensured they had the money.

"What's in for me?" Lelouch asked.

"You get whatever you win. I won't take a dime," Hector said, "All I need for you is to win. It's a matter of prestige, brother."

Lelouch remained silent, contemplating for a second while maintaining his purple eyes on Hector. A decision was made in his mind. Both Hector and Lelouch shared a business-smile right after that.

An agreement has been completed.

* * *

"Excuse me, ma'am, but you are not allowed," the burly guard obstructed her path. "This is private property."

C.C didn't like the guard. He didn't bother to show her minimum respect. She could have paralyzed him with her code, but there was a slight complication. It was a risk as she was weakened, because of her recent 'death'.

That boy Emiya Shirou, he was extremely rude. Not only did he have the decency to accept her extremely generous contract, he forced her to extreme mental anguish. He even made _her_ cry.

And yet, why were they still bound by a contract?

It was unusual but she knows it. She could feel the bond with him. But what kind of Geass did he receive? All she knows was he twisted the bindings between them and tried to break away. So, the contract between them was something twisted too. Which means the Geass he received was something twisted too. All these factors made it important for her to meet Emiya Shirou as soon as possible, but these guards were doing nothing to help with her case.

"I need to meet Emiya Shirou," she asked them, running her fingers through her long hair. "Can you tell him that a beautiful girl with green hair is waiting for him outside?"

"Sorry," the guard refused. "We are _not_ allowed to do anything as such."

"So you won't help a poor girl," she tried putting her saddest expression. She looked away, hiding a cocky smile. "I thought you were man enough to help me out."

She studied the guard, expecting some kind of reaction from him. The guard simply raised an eyebrow. "You can leave, ma'am," he said showing her to the main road.

* * *

"Call me strange, but I spend half the day over there—" Hector pointed at a building around the corner. "I sit on the terrace, eating my favorite snacks and study the people walking over here."

They were in the Fountain's Square, a relatively costly, and by extension less populated area. The building Hector pointed out was a desolate apartment. It was poorly maintained as it _just _falls out of the Square's jurisdiction. Politics were rampant, even in Avalon.

'_Such insignificant dreams these fools have.' _Lelouch criticized the Avalon politicians. The truth was, they didn't have any real power. Political power wasn't being widely accepted in Avalon as it was dominated by heroes who loved freedom more than anything.

"So that's how you spotted me, huh," Lelouch looked at the poorly painted building.

"Here we are," Hector took him into a narrow lane in Lower Aristotle, the colony for the masses they say. The narrow lane didn't go into a dead end as Lelouch anticipated, but instead there was another turning.

"Don't hold your breath," Hector said as they took the turn—

And ended up standing before a massive building. Neon lights flickered throughout the house, various colors of light danced in various shapes. It was as if they chose this dark alley just so that they could show off these colored lights. Above all, what took most of Lelouch's attention was the header which read 'Rochet's'.

"Rochet's?" Lelouch asked. "Someone's name?" It was a trivial question.

"Don't bother about things like that," Hector pushed Lelouch forward. "Let's enjoy and play the game."

The inside was more blinding than the outside. Heavy music rang through the speakers spread throughout. Men and sparsely dressed women were deeply engrossed in various activities.

There was a counter in the left that serves as a bar, the rest of the room was filled with tables, and walls were filled with dartboards, not to mention the slot machines. Lelouch already lost the count of the different kinds of games.

"Lemme introduce you to a couple of my friends," Hector shouted through the noise.

Things were too earth-like for Lelouch's tastes. "I expected something different," he complained as he followed.

"It's not the setting, Lelouch," Hector pretended like a tour guide. "It's the people in here that you'll enjoy more."

Hector took him to a round table, surrounded by three people or so. "Hey guys," he announced before slapping a particularly built person on the back.

"Hector!" A thin man with eyes that bulged out of their sockets hugged the orange-haired Hector. The eyes that were large in comparison to his face reminded Lelouch of the eggs he had seen in the market earlier. Every time he opened his mouth, he exposed the teeth that required some serious scaling. Maintaining your Hygiene was important, even after death.

"Oi, Hector," the well-built guy looked at Hector with a threatening expression, "You were kicked out for cheating remember?" He looked like a real medieval hero, with a body that was shaped pretty well. His hair was long enough to touch his shoulders, and a moustache, French beard that seemed to be taken good care by the owner.

"He's bought a new guy in exchange," a woman with short black hair pointed to Lelouch. She wore a blue jacket over a black undershirt. The blue earrings, which were clearly made of diamonds, dragged most of Lelouch's attention under the light.

The remaining two turned around and stared at Lelouch, who silently stood studying the board. They were playing a game of chess, Lelouch noticed.

"Oh look," the well-built man stood up, "What do we have here?" He said mockingly, as he towered upon Lelouch, as if to intimidate him. He turned back to the orange head behind him, "Hey, Hector, are you sure about this kid? He doesn't have a muscle." The well-built man curled his lips and shrugged in a mocking manner.

Lelouch ignored him and walked towards the board. "You might think you're winning this game if you put a check with your rook and then finish the game with your knight. But your king will be trapped in three more steps, and I bet you haven't noticed it yet." He smirked at him. "I am well-built in the right place for this game," Lelouch pointed at his brain.

The larger man gawked at this in surprise. The guy with bulging eyeballs however smiled, "You're pretty good it seems."

Under two minutes, not only did he study the situation of the game, he even predicted the steps either of them would make. It was impressive, if not impeccable.

"Hey, Roman why don't you have a match with Lelouch," Hector offered. "You put him in your team if he wins, whaddaya say?"

"Sounds fair," Roman, the guy with bulging eyes blinked, clarifying Lelouch's doubts about his eyelids. He did have them.

"Hector, can I punch him if he loses?"

"Cletis," Hector gave him a helpless smile, "You don't want our—"

"I don't mind," Lelouch interrupted, throwing him a smile.

"You're confident," Roman said, rearranging the board. "White or Black?" He asked.

"Black," Lelouch said. It's always been Lelouch's color of choice.

**Liked it? Do review!**


	5. Toppled Predictions

**5. Toppled Predictions**

Some random kid's giving Roman a hard time.

The news spread through 'Rochet's' like an epidemic, or a wild fire, whichever you chose to be more dangerous.

A simple chess wouldn't normally earn such attention, unless it was between two grandmasters. However, as one might've understood by now, everything in Avalon was different.

Chess was a prime sport among those who preferred a battle of wits. No game could test a person's thinking as well as chess does, without involving any fantasy games or sorceries. There were of course people who hated thinking, and became Counter Guardians with sheer luck or brute strength and determination. If it's the former, they would resort to the other simpler games that involve more luck than skill and if they belong to the latter, they'd be used in case unnecessary hostilities resulted between the involving parties. This was concisely how Avalon Gambling worked.

Lelouch didn't know much about it as he was relatively new, but the attention a small chess match aroused was something his critical eyes didn't miss.

Mysterious men crept from everywhere, watching the match casually as they sipped on their wine. Scantily dressed women watched with lazy yet seductive eyes. The so-called waiters stopped whatever they were doing and watched, with full trays firmly balanced on their firm hands.

Except for a couple of people who didn't actually care, almost _everyone_ watched the battle of wits.

G4-G5

In what seemed to be a shrewd move, Roman put his pawn diagonally next to Lelouch's Black Knight. The white pawn wouldn't probably accomplish anything if Lelouch pulled his Knight back to safety. In that case the pawn would wound up trapped inside, endangered by the bishop and three black pawns. The only thing it could accomplish was force Lelouch to send his Knight back.

B5-B4

However, it was never Lelouch's style to simply let the opponent take the momentum from him. Instead of the defensive move, he simply moved his own Pawn and placed it before Roman's White Knight.

This was the move that caught everyone's attention. Instead of defending, Lelouch took the offensive stance, and put the gun on Roman's Knight.

There was a slight disturbance in Roman's eyes. He asked, "So you like to throw away your Knight just like that?"

"Do _you_?" Lelouch simply turned the question around. If Roman strikes Lelouch's Knight, then Lelouch would strike his. So basically, the decision lied in Roman's hands, not Lelouch's. Roman didn't like to be put in such a disadvantageous position, especially because his original intention was to put Lelouch on the defense.

Roman withdrew the Knight that was threatened by Lelouch's pawn. As soon as he did so, Lelouch took his own Knight back to safety.

Instead of taking the weaker approach to save his Knight first, he threatened the opponent's Knight, and managed to save his Knight while still not letting Roman the momentum he wanted. He lost nothing in the process of doing so. The Knight was safe and sound; he simply had to put it at momentary risk.

The end justifies the means.

"You're damn good," Roman broke a smile with those brown teeth of his.

"I could say the same," Lelouch replied, with an aloof smile on his face. Roman was certainly one of the better opponents he faced. In fact, he could give Roman a second place next to Schneizel in the list. There's a reason why these people were watching the match.

The match was far from over, it was still the thirteenth move, and only Lelouch lost a single pawn.

The rest of the match continued in a similar fashion. Roman, now that he understood it was impossible to pressurize Lelouch, tried to move onto the offensive by taking out a couple of important pieces while letting Lelouch set his own pace.

Lelouch made similar daring steps more than once. But unlike the first time, Roman didn't go on the defensive. What resulted due to such egoistical moves was a lighter board. By the twenty-second step, either side lost four-five pieces.

The match seemed to be at its peaks when Lelouch threw the first 'check' with his Knight. After a series of exchanges, Lelouch crippled the defense around the Opponent's King.

Although, Roman struck Lelouch back by putting him in a series of 'checks' with his Queen, with his own combination of a Rook and a Queen, Lelouch managed to pull through and ended the match with a 'Checkmate'.

"It's over," Lelouch said as soon as he made the finishing move. Roman sunk and shook his head, accepting defeat.

"You had me on toes all along," Roman said. Lelouch set the pace of the game, and continued to pressure Roman throughout the match. But that didn't mean Roman was bad. Despite the opponent's constant domination he stood for thirty-nine steps. "You got a nice one Hector," he said shaking his head in acceptance, once more.

The people around whispered and mumbled into each other's ears as they slowly dispersed. The news that someone better than Roman joined 'Rochet's' wasn't something anyone was considering to take lightly. Lelouch got the limelight with just one match.

"So," Hector referred to the three as the crowd thinned down. "What do you say? I'm pretty sure you need an ace in the hole for the game with Tito's." He kept shifting his gaze back and forth from the short haired woman to Roman. "He's fresh stock."

The woman with the short hair looked at Lelouch, studying the raven-haired as he impatiently tapped his foot, pretending to look somewhere else, as if he wasn't the subject of discussion. She shifted from her place and threw a glance at Roman. Roman wrinkled his nose and shrugged. The woman then nodded casually. "Perhaps," she said throwing Hector a sideways glance, slipping in a thin smile.

"I don't need him," Cletis broke, drawing Lelouch's attention to the bulky man. Lelouch expected Cletis to wear a frown on his face, considering how he mocked the hero a few minutes earlier. Instead, there was a cunning smile on his lips. He pointed his finger to Hector, "I might consider if he beats you though. He's your replacement, right?" Cletis asked, raising his eyebrows. "Fair enough?"

"Me?" Hector shifted between Cletis and Lelouch. "You're kidding, right?" He asked, "I don't even know the rules properly."

"Oh, please," the woman waved Cletis off. "No one can beat Hector. Stop being an egoistic bastard and let Lelouch in."

Cletis however, didn't seem to listen to her. He simply stared into Lelouch's eyes and sniggered. "You're not the type to take a step back are you, punk?" He maybe a poor player, but he could definitely understand Lelouch's way of thinking by watching the game.

Lelouch scoffed at this, "Maybe." The smile on his face disappeared, "If I win, you'll buy me a house near Fountain Square."

The smile on Cletis's face turned into a laughter. "Fountain Square?" He exchanged the laughter with Hector and Roman, who however, didn't seem to enjoy the same.

It wasn't a joke. Lelouch had in fact taken liking to a grand looking house that reminded him of guest houses in Pendragon.

"He's conning you," Roman warned Lelouch. "I told ya now. Shit's on you."

"Guys," Hector said, "Forget it. I only know the basics of the game. I'll be insulting Lelouch if I play."

Lelouch found this amusing. The three of them around seem to be confident about Hector's win, but Hector denies it. Was it some kind of a ploy? Or was it Hector's style? Let your opponent underestimate and then surprise him, was that it? Or could it be that Hector wants to avoid playing?

"There's nothing to lose, right?" Lelouch asked Hector. On the other hand Lelouch could win an expensive residence.

"The kid wants you, Hector," Cletis smacked on the orange head's back. "And don't you dare throw the match. The consequences will be," he whispered in Hector's ears, before guffawing.

Groaning, Hector sat down on the other side of the table before Lelouch, and started setting the board. The Britannian Emperor studied the orange head's eyes. There was a pang of guilt in his looks, as if he felt sorry for Lelouch. _'Is he really that good?'_ Then why the heck was he kicked out of 'Rochet's'? More so for a stupid reason like cheating. Nobody kicks you out of the house because you _cheated_ during a gamble. More importantly, how could anyone cheat in a chess game?

"Any time limit between moves?" Hector asked, once the board was set.

"Whichever you prefer," Lelouch replied.

"I actually…," he paused, and then sighed. "No time limit."

A silence stood between them for some time. "Well," Lelouch asked. "Shouldn't you be moving?"

Uh," Hector looked like he just snapped out of trance. He uncomfortably looked at the board, and then said to Lelouch, "I'm a terrible player. Don't tell me I didn't warn you." He took a pawn into his hand and made his first move.

Lelouch immediately realized he was speaking the truth.

* * *

"He's been waiting for you," the stern woman at the reception desk informed. To be honest, everyone was stern in the magus association. It was as if they didn't need a smile. The only people he saw smiling always put up a fake one.

Shirou slightly hesitated to open the door. There was a reason. The man behind it was trouble. Don't be mistaken. Lord El-Melloi wasn't _that_ scary or dangerous like Tohsaka. The main reason one needs to be afraid of, were the things he makes you do. Shirou still remembered the first day he was forced to attend first grade with six year olds, three years ago. The funny part? He was still doing it.

But he had to admit, amongst the people in the association, the only person who seemed remotely human was Lord El-Melloi. He reminds you once in a while that magus need not be self-centered and vain.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed the door open, wondering what sort of sarcastic remark would hit him home.

To his surprise, he found the so called Lord sleeping on his chair.

"Eh," Shirou held his breath for once. The door-closer caused the door to automatically close behind Shirou, startling the redhead a bit. Knowing that his escape route was closed, if not locked, he decided to face the man.

Despite asleep, Lord El-Melloi maintained the same serious face. He had a long black silky hair, a feature that made him the subject of importance in the day dreams of many young women. He wore a black suit, with a red overcoat, giving him more of a classy appearance. Lord El-Melloi took special care about such things. He preferred to look flawless, as he was constantly the center of attention in the association.

Shirou stood there for a second, like a pole. He didn't know what consequences he would face if he tried to wake up the man who had a selective temper towards Japanese, and Shirou especially.

After two minutes or so, he realized it would be worse if he didn't wake the Lord up. He slowly approached the man, and tapped his arm as gently as he could.

The Lord who was said to have known no fear, the man who single-handedly fought the majority of the association on a daily basis, jolted awake by a feather touch, opened his eyes and screamed, "No, I didn't do it!"

* * *

"Waver Velvet."

The blonde magus uttered the name deviously, like no one ever could. Every syllable had contempt, anger, hatred, derision, and disappointment written all over it.

Eighteen year old, short and scrawny Waver Velvet was trembling with fear that shook every last fiber of his body. He tried to say something, but what came out was incomprehensible gibbering.

Each and every word Kayneth uttered was full of venomous vengeance. "So you screw up my chances to win the Holy Grail War, get me killed, and now enjoy _my _title." He held Waver by the throat and lifted him up. "You must have enjoyed when I was getting brutally murdered, didn't you?" He brought Waver closer to his face, and hissed, "You'll pay for killing me."

"No," Waver tried to say, but ended up coughing up some spit as Kayneth's hold grew tighter.

"You must have a hard time breathing, let me pull your lungs out for you," Kayneth's blue eyes were filled with a deep blood lust.

With despair, fear growing in his heart, the terrified Waver Velvet put every ounce of energy inside him and screamed—

"No, I didn't do it!"

Suddenly, the dark world around him disappeared. Instead he found himself sitting in a familiar place. His own office, and standing before him was a certain redhead.

_'It was a freaking dream!'_

It took a full second for reality to sink into Waver's—No, Lord El Melloi's mind. He had foregone the name Waver ever since he was made Lord. The title 'Lord' was a constant reminder of what he was now, and to forget the weak self he left behind, to remind him of his duties, his goal, and most importantly to make sure that his opponents would watch what they speak about him.

As the Lord, he firstly had to deal with the man standing before him.

Emiya Shirou, the utterly talentless magus in everyone else's eyes, the man who was painfully honest and naïve stood before him with surprised brown eyes.

Of all people. Of all people, he had to let his guard down against Shirou. What a shame.

Sleep was perhaps the only point when anyone could find him vulnerable. Ever since he inherited Kayneth's Mystic Code, whether it was guilt or whether it was the Code's way to reject him, he was constantly plagued by nightmares, most filled with Kayneth and some with alternate versions of the Holy Grail war, with Rider and Kayneth _not_ failing to emerge as winners each and every time.

He never fell asleep in the office, but today, ah, today was an exception. That was because he spent most of his time last night, testing out the new theory he developed for the artificial magic circuits, something that could close down the gap between those with a thin blood line and those with a rich one.

Emiya Shirou has partially seen the side he wished to bury forever. It wasn't a good sign, but fortunately, he was extremely naïve and can be manipulated with ease.

"Are you here to stare at my face?" Lord El-Melloi asked, breaking the silence between them.

Shirou narrowed his eyes, as if to protest something, but stopped. The poor guy made that face a lot. "Um, I thought you called me," he said.

"Yeah, sit down," he pointed to the chair before him. Lord El-Melloi liked Shirou actually. He might seem soft, but he was the walking definition of determination. With next to zero number of magic circuits, he trained himself hard and came up with a unique style of Magecraft. In fact Shirou's determination made the Lord envious.

"There're a couple of important things I need to tell you," Lord El-Melloi inclined back on the chair. His eyes that were equally black as hair bore into Shirou, studying the redhead's body language. It was one of the basic aspects of interrogation. Yes, he was interrogating Shirou. Because something didn't smell right with Rin's story. "But before that, could you just brief me on that assignment you and Rin managed to screw up."

* * *

Lelouch stared at the board once again not believing the scene before him. It was the same.

The black King was under Check Mate.

"Game," Cletis roared as Lelouch blankly stared at the board, his face completely pale. His hands still holding the Queen he was about to move, before Roman pointed out the 'accidental' checkmate.

Hector on the other hand, was looking at Lelouch, with a wry smile on his face. He didn't look like he was enjoying the win. Rather he looked like he hated the winning part. The same could be said about Roman and the woman who was yet to reveal her name.

Lelouch on the other hand was simply pissed.

This game was…ridiculous.

Hector was a poor player from the start. Every move he made, right from the opening was poor, with no ulterior motives hidden underneath. There was a fine line between a poor move and a stupid move.

Chess wasn't that simple to play. You can't play half the game stupidly, and suddenly pull a sudden win. The chances, something like that could happen were extremely close to zero. What happened just now was a happy coincidence for Hector. There was no room for doubt in that.

"This is unacceptable," Lelouch slammed his fist against the desk. His pride didn't allow him to accept what lay before his eyes. Losing wasn't that hard to bear. But losing to someone who doesn't have a chance to win was ridiculous.

How could he—Lelouch Vi Britannia, the man who put the world under his feet, could simply lose like that? If he had made stupid mistakes like that when he was alive, he wouldn't have able to do the things he did. In fact, he would have died the first day he began his rebellion against Britannia.

This wasn't like him. He _never_ made mistakes like this. This was just a stupid bad coincidence. This was a sick joke. Avalon has already been terrible for him. He didn't like it going worse. But _this_ was the worst. He lost to a plain rookie who barely knew the rules.

"Accept it sucker," Cletis roared into laughter once more. "No one can win against Hector."

Lelouch glared at Cletis. "I'm not buying it," he said.

"Lelouch," Hector intervened, "Don't consider this as a loss. I was only lucky." He said pointing to the board. "I don't stand a chance against you," he paused and muttered slowly, "_Normally_."

The mumble didn't escape Lelouch's ears. "Normally?" He asked.

"Well," Roman laughed a bit, looking at a sheepish Hector. "Hector has too much luck. He can _never _lose. Nothing can beat him, as long as he sets his eyes on it."

Lelouch turned to Hector, aghast. The orange head scratched hair, "Sorry, but that's the power I was given when I was alive."

"Precisely why we were forced to kick him out," the woman added. "When people figured his little trick out, they banned him from all sorts of gambling."

Of course. If he won something like chess, which solely relied on skill and had very little to do with luck, then all other sorts of gambling would only be child's play to him. Lelouch realized the weight in the power he possessed. It was truly a blessing. It outranked his Geass or any power in that manner by a mile.

But now that Lelouch knew of Hector's power he could play _very_ cautiously. Then what would Hector's power do? Would it force him to make a slip-up again? Or would it fail?

"I demand a rematch," Lelouch said, narrowing his eyes onto Hector.

* * *

Despite how impatient he looked, Lord El-Melloi patiently listened to Shirou's story not just once but thrice. Shirou was extremely bad at lying, but fortunately he had Tohsaka Rin behind his back. She laid the foundations too well. Even Shirou didn't face any difficulty building a lie on it.

And yet—

There was something in Lord El-Melloi's eyes. It was a hint of dissatisfaction. It was his way to tell that he didn't buy the lie, even if it was well-laid.

"Hmm," the Lord nodded, pretending to buy what Shirou spoke. "So, are you telling me that this person—Takahashi Kuro was guarding some kind of 'Code'. You managed to fend him off, but had to reconcile with him in an emergency fight against church, and a fourth mysterious party stole the body."

"I'm not sure about the fourth party," Shirou said. "But yeah, that's the only meaningful conclusion."

"Hmm," the Lord nodded again. "I'll look into this Takahashi guy. There's a good chance you might be linked to him by some distant blood relation." The Lord jotted something as he spoke. "And," he dropped the pen and pinched the bridge of his nose. "The reason you couldn't image Caliburn—" He hesitated before he spoke.

Uh oh.

Whenever the Lord hesitated before he spoke, it meant he was about to say something painful. Shirou took a gulp before the Lord spoke. "The only meaningful conclusion I could make," he said with those eyes that try to scan every cell in your body. "You're trying to forget King Arthur aren't you?"

Shirou choked. "I-I…" Instinct told him to deny something. But he couldn't say anything. The gears of his brain began to whirr.

Was that true? Was he really trying to forget Saber?

When the Holy Grail War ended, he didn't feel sad during their parting. Because he knew that was how things were bound to end between them. He comforted himself, not losing to any glimmer of hope or the greed to keep her alive. There was no 'I should've used the Grail to save her' inside him. Destroying the grail was far more important. He simply declared himself that there was no hope for them.

Deep down, he still missed her. But he pushed that emotion back, threw it away as if it were thrash. He forced himself to forget her.

What a joke.

Could anyone forget _her?_ The beautiful knight that stood before him, as the moonlight illuminated the shed. The day when her beautiful glory lit his sorry life, how could he dare to forget it?

He remembered each and every second of those five minutes. Everything from the noise her armor made to her firm and kind voice.

_"Are you my master?"_

"I didn't forget her," Shirou disagreed with the Lord. The Lord was correct in many situations till now, but he was wrong now.

"Fine," he shrugged. "Let's go with that assumption. Then why can't you trace her sword?"

There was no answer in his mind. "I don't know," he shook his head. "But I still won't accept what you said."

"You're being adamant," the Lord sighed. "Fine, let's put that for later." He slowly massaged his head, as if in deep thought. "Well, what I'm about to say now is strictly confidential, Shirou." The Lord inched forward and looked straight into Shirou's eyes. "I don't doubt you or anything. It's just that you can be easily manipulated by magic. You know like the last time when that woman from France—"

"You needn't mention it now!" Shirou jumped out of his seat as he exclaimed, face turned red. Realizing he was in a Lord's office he calmed himself and settled back to the chair, "I'm sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "But seriously," he begged. "Don't mention that please." The events that happened that fine day still haunted him in his dreams.

"Hmm," Lord El-Melloi however mused at his reaction. Shirou could swear the Lord was hiding a smile.

The Lord took an exaggerated sigh, wiping out the smile off his face. "Shirou, let's not go off-topic now, okay?" He frowned at Shirou, threatening the redhead.

Shirou wanted to point out that it wasn't him but the Lord who took the discussion off-topic, but since it was Lord El-Melloi he preferred to be silent. Who knows what punishment he would throw for 'talking back'?

"Good," the Lord nodded slightly. "Shirou, what if I say—" he paused, glaring at Shirou. "What if the dead woman you saw is pretty much alive?"

"Huh?" Shirou stared at the Lord in surprise. He shook his head, "But that's impossible. We found her in a _pool_ of blood."

"Did you check her pulse?" The Lord asked immediately. "The blood may as well be a goat's and you won't even realize it."

"N-No," Shirou shook his head. "She's dead. I am—"

Could he really say that? The voice that spoke to him in the dream. What if?

The Lord smiled, taking Shirou's hesitation as his victory. "This is just my theory," Lord El-Melloi said, hunching forward. "I think everything that happened was just a set-up to kill Rin."

"What?" Shirou asked, unable to comprehend the meaning behind the sentence. Actually, his brain was forcing not to comprehend it.

"Let me explain you from the start," the Lord said. "I had this hunch since Rin told her story. How could the girl just disappear when none of you noticed anyone else around? My doubts were somewhat confirmed because of this," he removed something from his drawer. It was a piece of letter. It had the official Association sigil on it. "I was written this letter, saying to address the situation in the town of Valvale. The person who wrote this letter specifically asked me to send my best even though it was a low rank mission." Lord El-Melloi raised his eyebrows, asking the redhead to find the meaning behind it.

"It needn't be interpreted that way," Shirou tried to argue. He had to because the Lord's so called hunch was based on _his_ story, which was well, somewhat far from the truth.

The Lord sighed, "Why don't you at least try thinking in that angle?" He paused, for a second and said, "No, I'll just say it. Whoever wrote this, know well that I'd send Rin if asked for the best."

"If the letter came from the association," Shirou said, "Why wouldn't you know who sent the letter?"

"Because," Lord El-Melloi replied, "It was written in the _association's_ name. It's common in here to send anonymous requests. I do it all the time."

Great.

"I know," the Lord said, once again taking the pen on the desk into his hand. He started fiddling with the object. "It sounds like a wild theory but then I have something that could backup my supposition."

"I have a couple of familiars here and there in the city," the Lord said. "Right after Rin gave me her report, one of them found a green-haired woman by a Pizza Outlet, which is pretty close from here."

Shirou's mind turned blank. There were very few people with a green hair. In fact the only one he saw with one was the dead woman.

It didn't make sense, or did it? He heard a strange voice in that fuzzy dream. He didn't see who the owner was, but there's a good chance it could be her. But then—

"And one last fact that supports my theory," the Lord said. "Takahashi Kuro and the other guy. They had guns as per your story. Magi have always despised guns, but Magus Killers don't. I think you know that very well."

This again, Shirou frowned. Just because he was Kiritsugu's son doesn't mean he empathized with Magi Killers. Actually he didn't even know his foster father was a Magus Killer till Lord El-Melloi dropped it on his head.

Of course, there was no way he would say this aloud. He decided to play with the Lord for now.

Shirou began, "Are you telling—"

"Someone in the association wants to get rid of her," the Lord frowned. "They're willing to go low enough to hire a Magus Killer. The girl must be pretending to be dead. She's one of them. When the Holy Church took the bait not intended for them, they had to join hands with you people. She's hunting the two of you right now. It fits perfectly with your story."

Except his story was botched up.

He hid one important fact from Lord El-Melloi, and that fact was good enough to shoot his theory down real hard.

"Hmm," Shirou pretended to think it over. He was actually worried now. What if Lord El-Melloi makes some drastic decisions with the partial story he told him? What if this lie could get back to them? What if this story could have tremendous consequences on someone else's life?

This wasn't right. He had to inform Tohsaka about it. "I, um," he tried to find some excuse to get out. He had to hurry up and—

"Are you nuts?" The Lord glared at him. "You're planning to tell all of this to Rin?"

Damn it, he got him. Since when was this man, a mind reader?

"Why not?" Shirou asked, trying not to make it sound lame. It did anyway.

"Because it's just a hunch," the Lord argued. "I'm not sure if her life is really in danger. Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Besides, whoever is trying to put Rin down, would first try it through the association. Rin hasn't appeared before the review committee yet. Do you know what'd happen if she knew somebody among them is trying to _kill_ her? She'd do something stupid and lose her position because of that. Besides, I'd become a fool if my suspicions are for nothing. It will be the biggest joke: Lord El-Melloi lost his best pupil because he was paranoid."

Shirou sighed as he leaned back to the chair. This was really getting to his nerves.

The threat to Tohsaka's position was there. But something like that was common in the association because they were all greedy people. But would they be greedy enough to kill her? The question doesn't have a certain answer unfortunately.

If she manages to do well against the committee Tohsaka won't have any trouble keeping up her family name. But if she hears Lord El-Melloi's theory, she might overthink the whole thing and make it a mess. Especially because the Lord himself was unsure if his hunch was correct or not.

There're good chances that the Lord's hunch could be wrong, because it was built on a lie that he didn't knew. But still the hunch would be destructive enough for Rin, whether it's correct or not.

"You have to lie to Rin about this conversation," the black haired Lord said, looking sharply into Shirou's eyes. It was the look that said 'I made the decision, and you have to abide by it'. "I know you're a terrible liar so—" a small smirk spread across his lips. "I'll prepare you."

* * *

About four people held their breaths in Avalon. The funny thing about it was, they already lost their breaths when they died.

"Checkmate," the raven haired Emperor said making the last move.

All four of them tried to say something, instead they made incomprehensible noises.

They weren't to be blamed, because Lelouch defied the impossible and beat Hector. To people who knew Hector's prowess as a Counter Guardian it was like a dream inside the endless dream called death.

"There's no room for luck in this game," Lelouch said, flipping the black king like a coin. "It's precisely why I love this game."

The four still couldn't utter a word. The second match was a lot different that the first. Despite how foolish Hector's moves were, Lelouch spent at least two minutes per move taking each and every possibility into count. In the end, skill triumphed Luck.

"Your powers," Lelouch said, still playing with the black king. "I don't know if you're allowed to use it like this. It has one weakness."

Hector barely spoke, "What is it?"

"Perfection," Lelouch smirked. "No matter how lucky you are, you'll always lose to perfection."

Hector sat silently for some time. His lips slowly shaped into a thin line, and then into a smile. But soon, it spread apart further, and the orange head laughed.

Watching him, the woman and Roman smirked, but soon ended up joining him. Cletis watched them dumbfounded, wondering if they have hit the insanity mark.

"Wonderful, Marvelous, Excellent!" Hector rose up pulling Lelouch into a hug.

"He just freaking beat Hector!" Roman shouted. "You're damn good man. I wish I could marry your brain."

The woman inched closer to Lelouch. "April," she introduced herself. Lelouch briefly shook hands with the woman. She turned around to Cletis, and shook her head. She was still dazed, "He's fucking in," she said poking a finger at the middle-age hero.

Cletis pursed his lips, pretending to pout. It somehow didn't suit his appearance and made Lelouch smile. The man however didn't notice it, and patted Lelouch on the back. "You kick Chess-Ass."

"Lelouch," Roman said, his thin eyelids covered his golf-like eyeballs as he blinked. "When I heard Hector's powers, I gave up playing with him. But you," he exchanged a chuckle with the rest. He then asked a strange question, "Why?"

"It's simple. My brain's the only reliable weapon I have," Lelouch said with an aloof smile on his lips. "I can afford losing anything else but a chess game."

"You won't get that house in Fountain Square by the way," Cletis laughed. It reminded Lelouch of cattle grazing their food. "You lost the first time, right?"

"Sore Loser," April muttered, looking at Cletis.

Cletis shrugged, taking it as a compliment.

"Lelouch," Hector said, "The boss is unavailable but you can play the games for us. There's another house close by, they challenged us to a chess gamble. We need you."

"When is it?" Lelouch asked. He might have to inform Arturia first. It's not like he cared for her, he simply hated breaking promises. She looked after him; it's only natural to inform her.

"Tonight," April said, closing to Lelouch. "You might want to cancel any other appointments though." She whispered into his ear, "It's gonna be late."

Lelouch said without any hesitation, "Fine."

Finally he was feeling home at Avalon.

* * *

Shirou looked perplexed. It's evident from the fact that he has been walking through the Norwich hallway for the past half-an-hour. Every time he stopped before room number 526, and then turned back.

Twenty four hours ago, he was happy. He was severely bruised, almost injured to death but that's just about it. Now, he was hiding two facts, which was far dangerous than anything.

He hid about the woman's strange powers from Lord El Melloi, and he was about to hide Lord El Melloi's ridiculous theory from Tohsaka. Basically he was playing a double game with two people, against whom he never wanted to be on the opposite side.

"I just complicated my life," Shirou muttered in realization.

But, there was one thing that could save him from all of these complications. That's right if he could meet 'her' and ask what exactly did she do to him. Then he could come out of these stupid lies.

He had to search for the green-haired woman.

"Say what?"

Shirou was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the woman standing before him. "Yeah," he answered mindlessly out of habit.

"Why are you roaming in these halls when you're supposed to give me a report?"

Shirou paused. The authoritativeness the female voice carried, it was no doubt. "Tohsaka?" He turned around.

"Don't 'Tohsaka' me!" She yelled. "I was waiting for you the past fifteen minutes hoping that you'd stop this stupid pointless walking." She folded her arms, and gave him the trademark glare that still sent a chill down his spine.

"Now don't be so mad," he laughed nervously, attempting to calm down the woman.

"Come inside," she said before turning back.

Wordlessly, the redhead followed his 'teacher' into the room.

He resigned down on the couch, as Rin came in from the mini-kitchen inside their 'room'. She carried a tray, over which was a tea pot and two cups.

"You made tea?" He asked, as she settled the tray down on the table.

She gave him a wary glance and then poured the tea into their respective cups.

Shirou took the one assigned to him, and sipped the tea. He had to admit, Tohsaka was good at everything she does. The tea wasn't any exception.

She took a sip of her own tea. "So how did it go?" She asked.

Shirou's heart started beating faster. He had been preparing for this for the last fifteen minutes. Just one line. He had to say one line of a lie.

Speaking lies has never been a problem for him. It's just that Rin knew him all too well.

"I," he began. His eyes immediately shifted away from her. But that's what Lord El Melloi warned. When you lie, look straight into their eyes and speak confidently. "I gave him a report," Shirou said looking straight at Rin.

He observed as she sipped the tea with those thin lips of hers. Her beautiful teal eyes were fixed onto him. Without realizing he was staring intently at Tohsaka.

"Then?" She asked, setting the cup down on the table. "Did he find anything suspicious?"

"I don't think so," he shook his head. He was still watching her intently.

Damn, she's beautiful.

He tried to ignore this fact as many times as possible, but it keeps popping back to him. She was his crush since high school, his partner in the Holy Grail War, and now his master.

Rin shifted uncomfortably, as Shirou kept staring at her. They lived in the same room for three years, and uncomfortable moments like these have popped up more than once. She decided to ignore it by looking away herself.

"What did he say about Caliburn?" She said trying to shift the topic. She was a clever one at that.

The mention of Caliburn snapped Shirou out of his trance. "Oh, about that?" He grew serious. It was as if he was a whole different person now. "He told me," Shirou's eyebrow joined in a frown. His eyes narrowed onto the clenched fists that rested on his laps. "He said I was trying to forget Saber."

Rin looked at him for a second. Her usual seriousness returned back. "I think he's correct. I had the same opinion but—"

"What do you mean Tohsaka?" Shirou suddenly felt helpless. He was still clinging onto the opinion that he'd never forget her. And yet—

"It's simple, Shirou," Rin said. "It's a relationship worth fifteen days. You spent three years after that. No matter how strong a relationship is, people will change. You're trying to move forward. Isn't that why you've been ogling at me for the past few days?"

Shirou's face turned red in embarrassment. How could she speak so directly? But was what she said true?

"I'm not telling it's wrong or anything," she said, "I'm not the one to judge. But you must accept the facts."

Shirou stared at Tohsaka for a while, still finding what she said unbelievable.

Could it be the truth?

* * *

Arturia sat alone in the room. She had a packet containing dinner on one side, and a stuffed Lion to her right, on the table.

Her emerald eyes cast a glance at the clock on the wall. Although Avalon didn't have a proper time sense when compared to the normal world resulting due to the temporal instability, a great hero named Da Vinci made the wonderful invention. It was a clock that could measure the day and night of Avalon by adjusting with the temporal disturbances.

The time was 12 PM, and there still was no sign of Lelouch. She had been waiting since 7 PM, expecting him to come back hungry. She was rather excited today, because Lelouch was the first one she would ever share her story with.

Her hope began to falter after five hours of waiting. If it were anyone else but her, they would have given up long ago. But Arturia was tenacious. She waited, and waited and waited until the clock struck twelve.

"He could've met someone he knew," she wondered. "Maybe he'll be back a bit later."

She picked the dinner packet. Despite her voracious appetite, she decided to hold back, just so that she could share her story over dinner. It seemed like a good idea. Alas…

A new feeling swept through her heart. She felt lonely for the first time since she came to Avalon. Every day, from the day she arrived, she never thought about anything else. All she thought about was Shirou. Every time a new hero arrived, she wondered, if the new hero was Shirou. Those were the only thoughts in her life.

But he disturbed that.

Lelouch gave her hope that she could finally share this wonderful feeling with someone. She didn't know him properly, but she wanted to talk to him.

"Shirou," she muttered her lover's name, hoping that remembering him would push the feeling away.

Human brain is a strange thing. Once you feel lonely or sad, all the gloomy thoughts that you never had till then, would surface.

_"What if he fell in love with someone else?"_

Lelouch's words came back haunting to her mind. Why is it that the thought she never had till now, slowly creeping through her mind?

What if he really did fall in love with someone else? Whom should she blame for that? Blame the human heart that always sought happiness? Or should she blame her own foolishness to hope for a man that she was less likely to meet again?

"Shirou," she muttered his name again. Her chest was feeling heavy, and so was her throat. It's undeniable, she was crying.

**I am sorry for not updating for quite a while. I just lost the right gear to move this story. Yup, a small writer's block. But don't you worry, the next chapters will be more engaging, exciting and perhaps heart touching? **

**I'm sorry if you find this chapter, a little lesser in terms of quality. Like I said, the next chapter will compensate things.**


	6. The things that you care about

**6. The things you care about**

The first thing Lelouch experienced after getting up was a sharp headache.

"Oh god," he pressed the throbbing nerves on his forehead, hoping that doing so would make the pain go away. It was a hangover. He had too much to drink and had already emptied his stomach before he reached his room last night.

He didn't remember the time when he came back, but it was certainly around one. He looked at the clock, which now stood at nine.

Grumbling, he pulled the blanket off, and set his feet on the cold flooring. Memories from yesterday started to slowly reel back.

Hector and his friends took him to some other house called Tito's. There was betting on a huge level, Lelouch paid no heed to the money he simply played the game. He won with little difficulty. But he had to admit, the average intelligence in Avalon seems to be considerably higher than earth's. It was like setting your video game from easy to difficult mode.

He looked at the bag beside his bed and smiled proudly. The money was all his.

Even though Cletis raged at it, Hector stuck to his word and gave Lelouch the complete winnings. Of course, that was when they hit the drinks.

His stomach rumbled a bit.

Lelouch smiled at that. It was Arturia's fault to upset his hunger timetable by supplying with good breakfast last morning. He didn't have anything since then.

Speaking of Arturia, he did promise something about listening to her story. It wasn't even her request. He spouted that on his own.

Knowing her personality she would have waited all night. It wasn't a good thing to know.

He rose up, shaking all his drowsiness. He hated to do it, but he had to apologize to her.

He was more of a softer person than he thought. No wonder he sacrificed his life for the world, he mused as he smirked.

* * *

Shirou had a headache too. It wasn't because he was in a joyous mood, and had a hangover as a result of drinking. It resulted due to not taking a wink for the past twelve hours in the night. He wanted to sleep, he couldn't. Hence the headache.

He smacked himself on the back of his head, with the bone near his wrist. The pain numbed for a while, but it returned back like the waves on the sandy shores of a beach.

The main source of his entire troubles was one, behind the partition that split his room from hers, asleep and the other permanently sleep, aka Dead.

His feet met with the soft carpet that was spread throughout the room. It was unnecessary, yes but he stopped caring about it.

The thoughts were still haunting him. The fact that he was attracted enough to Rin that she figured it out long time ago upset him. It wasn't so wrong; it's just that remembering how he loved Saber was throwing his heart in a conflict.

He felt selfish, opportunistic when he thought about that. If Saber dies then Tohsaka. If Tohsaka was out of the scene, then would he go on and select someone else? Of course he would, and it was disgusting.

This wasn't how an ideal hero should be.

He couldn't just sit and take this anymore. There were many important things. Most importantly Takahashi Kuro and the green haired girl. He had to hunt her somehow, and figure things out before things get any complex for him. But before that, he had to calm his heart.

* * *

Lelouch found Arturia; in her house opposite to the apartment he was given.

Her house was decent looking, if not expensive. It was a simple independent house, with a small balcony for growing a small garden. Not less, not more. Typical middle class.

So that was the kind of life she wanted. She didn't want to be a princess living in a mansion, served my uncountable number of servants, who would come running for her with a mere clap or the snap of a finger.

She wanted a simple life. A loving husband who would come back home by 5 P.M, give her a kiss, cook dinner and then enjoy it together.

She wanted a simple life, and she treasured this simplicity.

Maximus, the bank cashier was right. People treasured simplicity here, because they were denied of it. But could the same be said for those people in Rochet's? Why were they gambling?

Money? Fun? It was the latter mostly. What they, him included since he liked the place, loved was momentary joy.

He hated to admit it, but the happiness Arturia sought was more beautiful than the one he did.

He came back to his senses when he noticed Arturia, watering the plants outside.

He approached the gate, and opened the wooden arrangement.

Arturia looked up at this. A small smile crept on her face.

It was a different kind of a smile, Lelouch noticed. It was the same smile she put when he went to the café she worked, with Kiritsugu. It wasn't the same smile she had when she shared the stories of her lover.

He wanted to apologize to her right away, but his ego didn't allow so. He first needed to confirm it, the ego told. "Did you wait for me last night?" He asked.

Her face much to his surprise didn't falter with a sad expression. "No, I haven't done anything like that."

Lelouch heaved a sigh in relief. "I thought you'd wait the whole night for me."

She smiled at this, "I did come but, I left after seeing your room locked," she told.

She had an extra key, he remembered. Then again, she might have not given him much thought, so the possibility couldn't have struck her. That further confirms what she told.

"I'm glad," he laughed slightly. "I actually have to leave for work soon," he said. It was a lie. He simply wanted to hang out at Rochet's. He could go now, now that he needn't worry about Arturia.

"I'll see you later," he said, and smiled.

Saber nodded at this, maintaining the smile throughout. "Good luck with your endeavors."

Lelouch turned back, and waved for one last time before leaving her house. He closed the wooden gate of hers, and walked back to his room, satisfaction on his face.

As he walked back, Lelouch realized something. Arturia didn't give any special reactions when he said he was going to work. They weren't close, but still. He didn't have a job yesterday, and he lied that he had one today. So she should give some kind of reaction, right?

Maybe she simply doesn't care. But it was completely unlike her to do so. She was a caring woman after all.

He took the improperly built stairs to the third floor, opened the lock and entered the small box called his room. He had to move to a bigger place, pretty soon.

As he entered the room, he began to formulate plans to somehow con Cletis into buying him a house in Fountain Square. Lelouch Lamperouge should begin his era in the world of chess gambling after all. He would start at this small house, then move onto a bigger stage, and invite tougher opponents.

Among the heroes spread across centuries, one or two were bound to be as good as him, right?

He closed the door, completely immersed in those thoughts, and walked to the bed. It was then did he notice the unfamiliar object sitting on the table.

It was a stuffed lion.

The toy was of the same size as that of standard teddy bears. The lion, had the structure similar to that of a human, and rested on its bottom, the short hind legs that stretched horizontally balanced the doll on the table. The face was designed to be small, and cute with hints of ferocity, through the eyes. It reminded him of Arturia.

The line of thought flashed a bulb in his mind. Instantly, Lelouch's lips formed a thin line, and a grim expression.

Arturia was here last night.

* * *

Shirou stood up, as the priest in black sat down before him.

"God bless you," he muttered, and signaled Shirou to sit down.

Yes, he was in a church. The word 'church' had always left a bad taste in Shirou's mouth ever since Kirei. He never had much faith in god to begin with, and Kirei's case only worsened it. But at the moment, this was the only place he could ease the burden in his heart.

"So what compelled you to come here?" The priest asked. He was a gentle person, completely unlike Kirei. He had white hair, which reminded him more of a strings than a hair. There were wrinkles on his forehead and near his brown eyes, but they were extremely kind, and the smile on his face was only welcoming. This was how a real priest would look like; Shirou printed that into his mind.

"I," he hesitated for a second. He surely can't tell about Saber directly. There was a good chance the priest would expect him to be a lunatic. He had to modify the story a bit. "I fell in love with a person."

The priest nodded, smiling in acknowledgment. Shirou continued, "I didn't spend much time with her. I fell in love with her in just sixteen days," he laughed in derision looking at the distant wall rather than the priest before him. "She died after that," he said then, lowering his head. He stared at the books neatly arranged on the table. "She didn't tell her true feelings until the end. I loved her the most. I never thought anything could fill her place in my heart. I still believe it," he muttered. He could feel his eyes growing heavy, and something warm slid down.

The priest clasped Shirou's hand, to comfort the redhead. "There's more," he smiled at the priest. The priest nodded, telling him to bring it all out.

"I thought I would never fall in love with anyone else. I thought she was the only one for me. But recently," he paused. He took a heavy breath. "I think I might fall in love with someone else."

"Are you here to ask me if it's right or wrong?" The priest guessed.

Shirou freed his arms from the elderly person, and wiped the 'speck of dust' in his eyes. "Yeah," he sighed. "I feel like I'm betraying her. I think I'm doing something wrong."

"You're not," the priest tapped his left hand that rested on the desk. "You might be young now, and you might not be suffering from anything else. But a time comes, when you might fall sick on bed, or become old. It's those times that you realize the importance in having a life partner."

Shirou's gaze softened. The priest said, "it's not wrong if your heart choses something to share its feelings with. It's human nature to seek a companion. If that is wrong, then falling in love itself would be a sin."

Shirou remained silent for some time. It's true that he loved Saber, but he should move on. Saber won't be back, even if he wanted to. He won't be betraying her by falling in love with someone else.

"In fact," the priest said, "The woman would be happier this way than see you spend the rest of your life alone, drowning in sadness."

Shirou nodded. Yes, he was feeling lighter at heart now. It was a good thing he came to visit the good priest. If it were Kirei, he would definitely say something to confuse him further and push him into chaos. "Thank you, Father."

He would embrace his feelings then.

* * *

"You should've seen that guy's face," Hector was chattering excitedly as Lelouch and April were having a game of chess. By now, playing with Lelouch became a measure of skill for everyone in Rochet's.

Of course it did well to his wallet.

"They suspect Lelouch might be having the 'Luck' factor too," Roman sat opposite to Hector, his arms wrapped around the chair's back, the chair was turned around. "They really suck if they don't see the difference between 'Luck' and 'Skill'."

"Checkmate," Lelouch said, as April gently punched the table.

April let out an exaggerated sigh, "I can't believe I signed up for this." Lelouch was too hard of a wall to climb.

"This kid always wins," Cletis muttered, "And he gets to keep all the money. He's gonna be too rich too soon." He absolutely loathed Lelouch's superiority at the game.

"I won't mind sharing with you," Lelouch rested on his left hand. Cletis widened his eyes a bit, and then narrowed it on Lelouch. There was no way Lelouch would make a deal, Cletis knew, unless— "I want you to buy me that house in Fountain Square though. I beat Hector remember?"

"The second time," Cletis pointed.

"Then will you buy me one for a third, or fourth or a hundredth time?" Lelouch mocked.

Cletis scowled at Lelouch, and grumbled, "I'm gonna break your bones someday. Then I'll buy you a hospital."

"In Fountain Square?" Lelouch quipped.

"What?" Cletis asked, confused, Then scowled, "Fuck you." He walked away to some other table and began a conversation shortly.

"You sure know how to get on people's nerves," April smirked, and then threw him a seductive smile. "Wanna get on mine?"

"I'm not interested in men," Lelouch said tauntingly. He of course didn't ignore the scanty dress she wore. Her dress was what one would say 'good at showing the goods rather than hiding them'.

"He's interested in Arturia though," Hector added, brushing his bangs with a cunning smile on his face.

Lelouch's smile disappeared, and was replaced by what was a hybrid between a startled and amused look on his face.

"Who the heck's Arturia?" Roman asked an expectant grin on his face.

"The girl from the sunflower field," Hector said laughing, exchanging a glance with April and Roman while he did so.

April looked at Lelouch, amused by Lelouch's 'tastes'. "You have _some_ taste don't you. But I gotta say, the only thing people got back from proposing her were warnings."

"Oh, I know that girl," Roman shook his head in acknowledgment. "Hey that girl has a broker or something. He keeps trying to hook her up with every new guy. But of course nobody can touch that girl. She's like fire."

They must be talking about Emiya Kiritsugu, Lelouch realized. He was certainly an interesting person. What does he want from her anyway?

"So you fancy her Lelouch?" Hector asked. "Maybe we could help you out."

"It isn't like that," Lelouch said, looking away. "She's more like a—" he paused for the lack of a word. "A sister," he said finally to save his face. Well, he could have seen her like a woman, if she wasn't so obsessed over the guy called Shirou. But then—

If Nunnally were in Arturia's place what would he do? A sudden question popped out before him.

He stood up abruptly. He left the black king he has been playing with on the table. "I have to go," he said as he rushed out.

* * *

Shirou was back in the room. Everything changed with the visit he paid to the father. He was feeling a lot lighter at heart. The sleep that eluded him till then was trying to come back. But the main problem with that was he had a couple of classes to attend today, it would be the last class of the year, before the grand ball.

Rin, was in the bath when he returned back, He waited, as she finished her bath and changed clothing, as evident from the simple noises she made. He leaned against the wall that separated her room from his.

The wall ran half-way through the 'room', and joined the hall. To, the extreme left was the kitchen, and to the extreme left was the balcony, that was built to have a good look at the wonderful view behind the building.

He expected her to come forward, after dressing herself, and say something. But she didn't. He waited for some time hoping that she'd speak something and break the awkwardness running between them. And she did speak after five minutes.

"Shirou," her voice was distant. He realized, she was leaning against the wall like he did. He couldn't hear voice properly through the thick walls, but the door to her room was open. That way they needn't look at each other, while speaking.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"If you really don't want to dance with me. You needn't force yourself."

Her tone surprised Shirou. It was the rare considerate Tohsaka tone. But there was an underlying tone of sarcasm, which seemed more out of self-derision than to mock him. "It's okay if you reject my offer," she said. "I'm used to rejection. My offer has already been turned down once."

Already rejected once? "What do you mean, Tohsaka?" Shirou turned a bit serious.

She sighed, "I've already selected a person to dance with. But he rejected my request."

Shirou felt a pang in his heart. It was jealousy. But this wasn't the time to be self-centered. Tohsaka has revealed something she hid till now. Getting rejected might hit her harder than it could hit him, considering she's a beautiful woman, because the chances of that happening were slim.

"Who's it?" He asked.

"Casey Finn," she muttered.

Casey Finn? Shirou's head spun around and turned blank. Casey Finn was the source of envy for every man. His popularity rivaled Lord El-Melloi's. But he's still a student, Rin's classmate to be exact. He had everything. Good looks, money, and most importantly he comes from one of the best lineage of magi.

No wonder Tohsaka chose him. It wasn't like he didn't expect something like this. He was actually surprised when Rin chose him in the first place.

The two of them might be close friends, but to a magus something else was more important than friendship, and that was to preserve the blood line. Every magus expects his offspring to far surpass him, and for that purpose they'd choose their life partner carefully.

"I'm sorry, I've chosen you only as a substitute," she muttered. "It isn't that I don't like you or something. But, to a magus family—"

"I understand, Tohsaka," Shirou said with a smile that was more forced than real. "Don't worry, you would definitely find someone better than him. But till then," he said with a helpless smile on his face that was well hid from her. "Bear with me."

"Thank you," she muttered. Her voice felt heavy, was she crying or something? "Emiya-Kun."

He wanted to comfort her but—

He has no right to. He was such a fool. All the time he worried if he could love Tohsaka after he loved Saber. He didn't consider the simple fact that he wasn't good enough for her.

It shouldn't be a surprise, and yet he felt heart-broken. He was a man who refused to cry, but deep down he was broken into pieces. But—

There was a good chance that Tohsaka might take a liking to him now. Maybe she would piece him together, and love him to the fullest.

There was no time to mull about. He had to make a woman fall for him after all.

But for that he had to solve the threat for her life. He had to find the green-haired girl first. If she was hunting for him and Tohsaka, then it would be pretty easy to find her.

A new determination pumped through Shirou.

But before anything else, he had to attend school.

* * *

"Achoo," it was for the third time she sneezed in two days. Someone must be really thinking about her. It wasn't like she was having a cold or something.

Then again, things have gotten really complicated for her.

She didn't know what the cause was, or who the cause was, but she was thrown into a completely different world. Far different from her own.

Everything was different over here. There was no Britannia, no suppressed Japan, and nothing else. Democracy was running rampant. But one thing remained common.

She was being hunted.

But by whom? She didn't know. Her sense of danger, sharpened by having cheated death many a times, told that someone was following her. But who?

She could feel this dark presence constantly looming around her, stalking her, but not attacking her. It wasn't because it couldn't attack her. It was merely waiting for something to happen. But what?

For the first time in her very long life C.C felt the real terror of being pursued. But she was bold enough not to show it. She maintained her usual calm. Ate pizzas at her will. Stalked around the magus association building in vain. Wherever she went, the presence followed her.

It wasn't the red-haired human who attacked when she somehow came into this parallel world. It was something more sinister. Something that forced her to the parallel world in the first place.

What was it that scared the immortal witch herself?

Whoever it was, she knew, they wouldn't waste a second's time in chasing her down if she tries to run away.

* * *

Lelouch was standing before a familiar place.

It was the café, the first place he was taken to, when he reached Avalon. He could have called it nostalgic, but it was just his third day.

He pushed the door and walked right in. A small bell attached to the door clanged, bringing the man sitting at the counter, which was right next to the door, to attention.

"Welcome," he said with a beaming smile.

Lelouch smiled back. He didn't pay heed to the surroundings. Only one thing plagued his mind, and he had to resolve that first. He approached the counter. "Good morning," he said maintaining his graceful smile. "Could I talk with Arturia?"

The said man raised his eyebrows, "She said she needed some break. She went somewhere. Could be back in a hour or so."

Lelouch nodded. "I'll wait," he muttered. She must have waited for quite a long time last night. It won't hurt to return the favor, at least partially.

"I'd like to warn you though," he spoke when Lelouch was about to turn back to occupy one of the tables. "She's on a sour mood today."

Just as he thought.

"I'm willing to face it," Lelouch added with a thick smile. He looked around, searching for an empty table. There were a couple of them. But it's not the empty tables that caught his attention. Rather, a certain man in a black suit who was frantically waving to him.

Emiya Kiritsugu.

Lelouch gave the man a small wave of his own. The said man was keenly observingly Lelouch, as he took the chair before him. Kiritsugu had a glass filled with a certain steaming, clear fluid.

"Hot water as always?" Lelouch asked.

"Goes well with cold glares," Kiritsugu answered with a smile as he set down the empty glass on the table. "Speaking of which, I need to thank you."

"Why?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm not sure what you did," Kiritsugu answered. "But you changed her heart. A hero was to come today, but Arturia didn't go to the sunflower field."

Lelouch remained stiff for a second. He involuntarily took a gulp down.

Just how much effect did his behavior yesterday had on her?

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath.

"I'm not sure how she'd take it from now though." Kiritsugu said after a pause. "She must be deeply hurt. But still, it's for the best. She'd lose hopes on Shirou," Kiritsugu's gaze faltered when he said the name.

Lelouch couldn't hold it anymore. He rose from his seat, and walked briskly. He didn't even look, when the man at the counter greeted him a farewell.

He rushed outside. He felt like scum. He never hated himself this much. He once felt sympathy on himself, for the things he had to do, sympathy when he was forced to turn on Nunnally. But never did he hate himself. He was irresponsible. He couldn't realize how delicate the matter was for her. He—

His wave of thoughts stopped.

Across the street, stood an unusual pair. One was the blonde woman he was searching for. The one with beautiful emerald eyes, and a tender heart. The other was the guy who stalked him a lot recently.

Hector.

At that point, he noticed Arturia's emerald eyes narrow in a frown. Despite her height, she moved forward boldly, and gave the man a powerful slap on his face. He knew it was powerful because Hector's face turned red right after the slap.

Who was he kidding? He forgot that Arturia was once King Arthur, a man who stood against betrayals, forced to fight his own knights. A man who has seen the worst in his life. A man in the body of a woman.

She might be sensitive on the love subject, but she was still the same bold woman.

At that point, Arturia's emerald eyes shifted to Lelouch who stood on the other end of the path. Her gaze softened, but the usual smile didn't take its place.

This was it. He had to apologize to Arturia for what he did, and whatever nonsense Hector may have spouted. He took bold steps and walked towards her.

He was fully prepared and calm. All he had to say was tell the truth. But then—

All of a sudden, Lelouch Vi Britannia vanished from the face of the Avalon.

* * *

"Tohsaka is really late," Shirou grumbled as he checked the time on the giant clock, present on the top of the academic building.

The academic building was rather too close to the Norwich Dormitory. A five-minute walk, and you would find yourself among the stern Professors of Magic, and the not so cheerful students of the association.

But the said woman did appear, two minutes later. She was in her usual red over black clothing, except the bottom extended below her knees rather than expose her thighs. Well that was what she maintained for the past three years. Her hair, instead of a double tail was let loose.

"Did Luvia pass by?" She asked, as soon as they made contact. Rather than worrying that she's late, she's more worried if Luvia woke up before her.

"No," Shirou said, to which Rin sighed in relief.

That was what Shirou had been doing till now. He was playing watch if Rin's competitor beat her to getting up first. It was annoying, but Shirou was more than used to it. In fact he's now doing the job even without Rin asking for it.

"Well, let's go," she said, moving ahead of him.

"Tohsaka," Shirou called the black-haired girl.

"What is it, Emiya-Kun?" She said throwing him an inquisitive look.

"Well," Shirou said, pointing back. "Isn't that where your classes are supposed to be?" The building to the far right of Norwich dormitory was where advanced Magi take classes, while the building on the left was where novice go.

There wasn't any need to have two separate buildings, but the Association being the Association spent or rather wasted the money on having an extra building.

"Oh that," Rin looked confused, "Don't you know? The soon-to-be graduating students will each be taking a junior class. The Professors have some kind of meeting about the semester result, and assigning ranks."

In other words, Rin and her classmates will be taking classes for them—

Wait. But that's—"Tohsaka, isn't it better if I skip class today?"

She contemplated for a second, and then said, "It is, but I think it's better if you don't stay alone for too long. You are caving in already."

Why does she have to remember him that of all times? Ever since she learned that he visited the church, she's looking at him as if he was suffering from the worst possible disease.

But then again, considering that _he_ of all went to the church makes her assumptions fair. It wasn't far from the truth either. Yeah, her idea wasn't that bad after all.

He had to admit, she knew him well.

"Good morning Rin," At that moment something flashy greeted from behind them.

He was a handsome, refined, good-looking man, much to Shirou's envy. He had a blonde hair that ended up in a pig-tail, serene blue eyes that could melt anyone, and a mischievous yet firm smile that could make any woman skip a heartbeat.

He was Casey Finn, the man whom Rin proposed and got rejected.

Of course, if one would look at Rin at that moment they would really doubt it. She stood unfazed, unlike any other woman. There was no hint of timidity in her eyes, nor a doubt. She simply smiled and greeted him like any other person. "Good morning, Casey."

The man however paid no heed to Shirou. It was something Shirou was used to. It wasn't anything discriminating, it's just normal for people to ignore the assistants or apprentices when they talk to someone of their level. Not that he would do anything of that sort, even if he were in a respectable position.

"Well, let's go," Rin nodded to Shirou. They then proceeded to walk towards class. Casey however, didn't seem to follow them. He was waiting for someone else.

"Well, I don't know who'll be taking your class," Rin as they parted half way across the hallway. "Don't make it too awkward for me, okay?"

"Sure," he nodded, uncertainly.

She walked back to him and whispered, "Especially if it's Luvia."

He nodded fervently like an obedient eight-year old.

Shirou entered the class room. Seeing the tall man enter the room, the students almost stood up in respect.

Almost.

"It's just Shero," the boy with a perfectly cut hair shrugged. The rest of the class groaned in unison.

Shirou couldn't help but throw in an awkward greeting, "Hey, good morning everyone."

He got a couple of wry smiles, rolling eyes and lazy nods in response.

Yeah, this was his class.

He walked to the last benches, and took the empty chair placed in a corner with them. It was perhaps the only thing that he could sit on, in the class bar the desk in the front of course. That was for the professor.

He attended the classes every day, thanks to a certain Lord who hated him. Things were awkward at first, but after three years, it was no longer that inconvenient.

But now, he was about to face the same dreadful awkwardness.

Why do all the Professors have to have this stupid meeting? Especially when they never had one in three years?

Whoever comes in, it would be Tohsaka's classmate. They'd definitely identify him.

Oh, well. He was used to these kinds of things ever since he came to the association.

But still, a side of him told. It's better if he stood outside, and face the awkwardness alone with whoever would come, rather than in the class.

Thinking so, he stood up and walked towards the dais, to its right was the door leading outside.

But then again, this was Shirou we're talking about. Luck and bad luck come to him in streaks. Mostly the latter.

By the time he reached the dais, and took the right, the door opened and a certain person walked in.

Shirou halted. He couldn't decide between going back and sit in his place, and explain the person of the situation. He was facing awkwardness to its extremes.

In that process, he simply stood like a doll for a second.

The person, to his ill luck happened to be Casey Finn, the blonde prince-like guy, for who even the eight year old girls behind him drool.

"I'm sorry," the blonde shook his head. "Is this your class?" He asked, wondering if he made a mistake.

"W-Well," Shirou couldn't figure out how to explain. "Yeah," he laughed nervously.

"But I was assigned, 3-B," the blonde checked his file. "This's 3-B right?" He asked the children around. They nodded nonchalantly, watching the scene before them without batting an eye, none failing to hide the amusement in their faces.

He looked at Shirou questioningly, "I'm sorry but," there was a lot of confusion. Casey couldn't figure why Rin's apprentice was in a class, let alone his.

"Well, this is your class, and…my class," Shirou added awkwardly, "I'm a student, like them." He pointed to the children.

How he hated saying that.

Casey, to his credit maintained a plain expression and settled things with a nod. "Oh, be seated then."

As he walked back to his chair, Shirou had only person as an imaginary target with an imaginary dart in his hand.

Lord El-Melloi.

* * *

The whole world seemed to abruptly change for Lelouch.

Did he die again, and became completely dead?

The thought sent a chill throughout. Imaginary butterflies seem to crawl through his body. His heart began to beat faster. To sum it up, it was nervousness.

He closed his eyes, and took in a deep breath.

Things seemed more stable. His heart wasn't racing anymore. Good. It means he wasn't panicking. Now, he should study his surroundings.

He opened his eyes, and much to his surprise, the darkness remained the same. Did he go blind all of a sudden? Was this some kind of repercussion for using Geass while he lived?

The next instant however things changed.

Knowledge he never knew flooded through his mind. Things that he didn't know a second ago, now seemed trivial. Any doubt, in his mind disappeared.

Alaya, the will of humanity has just summoned him into service.

"Lelouch Vi Britannia," he bowed to the force hidden in the darkness. "Answers to your summons. I have come to serve you."

There's nothing to say. Alaya won't speak anything, the knowledge Alaya gave him told. Because it has already given him enough knowledge that vanquishes any reason for a conversation.

He's being sent to the main world line, F67KL, the world he was born in, along with a million parallel existences similar or close to it. He died as an emperor in most of them, and in a very rare couple of worlds, as Zero, of the Black Rebellion, and some as an infant, some as Lelouch Lamperouge. Going by the majority, the form he would therefore wear would be—

Lelouch, the Tyrant Emperor.

The powers he possessed would be far greater than when he lived. Even his poor physical skill has been adequately compensated to match someone as good as Suzaku Kururugi. But of course, his main weapons, his brain and Geass have vastly developed as well.

There was a lot more information to process.

The most important of them, was the extermination of a group of humans, plotting to rebuild a force that could threaten Alaya itself.

He was ready. When he was ready, Alaya would automatically send him to the physical world, as an ascended spirit.

* * *

The class ended.

It was surprisingly pleasant. Casey did a wonderful job in explaining the basics of thaumaturgy. He had a better understanding of how different people imagine turning on their circuits in different methods.

While all of that was interesting, it was still futile. He didn't need these classes, nor was he interested in learning any other kind of magic.

But of course he wouldn't say anything to the guy in front of him. "So Shero," Casey called Shirou to have a one-one conversation. "I never thought I'd see Rin's apprentice of all in an elementary class. No offense."

"None taken," Shirou gave a hapless smile.

"But it could mean that you're either special, or special to Rin," he gave Shirou a sideward glance when he did so.

Shirou realized what he meant. No, he wasn't so 'special' to Rin, but yes he was special, in an 'I-can't-reveal-you-I'm-special' kind of a way. So basically he can't say he's special even if he was, and the other obvious implication was a bit painful on Rin's part.

"I suppose you can't answer to that question," Casey nodded understandingly. "If it's true, you can't say yes for Rin's sake. If it's not, then you must be something special enough to hide the information from me. Considering your frequent visits to the Lord's chambers, I might incline to the latter."

Shirou didn't know what to say. What could he say when Casey was answering the questions himself?

"Sorry for that," Casey laughed to himself. "It's just been in my mind."

Shirou wanted to say something, out of courtesy. If the conversation ends one-sided, the other party might find him unsociable, which he wasn't.

"Who did you choose as your date for the dance?"

Okay, Rin's going to skin him alive. But this conversation doesn't necessarily have to reach her ears, right? Well, this Casey guy doesn't seem to be a gossip-girl at least.

He laughed at this, "You'll be surprised."

Well, it could be some beautiful and rich magus, both in wealth and heredity. What's so surprising about it?

"I didn't choose anyone yet," he said after a pause.

"Why is that?" Girls practically drool rivers for him. Why, he could get enough girls to dance for the next few centuries. It was only a mild exaggeration.

"I don't know," he said, "The truth's I wanted to accept Rin's offer."

"Then why didn't you?" Apparently Shirou was getting worked up. "She isn't the type to ask guys out just like that. If I were in your place, I'd actually thank god for the wonderful opportunity."

"Wow," Casey blinked, "I never thought you had this much feelings for her."

"Well, she chose me because you rejected," Shirou was practically close to yelling at Casey. He wanted to say something else. He wanted to just make this man feel regret with words alone. But he didn't. More than his anger, he knows the situation he was in. This wasn't about some random High School Prom. It was a ball organized by the Magus Association itself. Things won't be fair. By raising his voice against Casey, he would only be making a fool out of himself and Tohsaka.

"I-I never knew," Casey looked shocked. He looked down at the flooring, and then looked at Shirou again. "The truth is I thought I wasn't enough for her."

Shirou chortled at this. Then apologized, "I'm sorry. I just found it funny."

Casey frowned, "I don't, Shero. I can't believe you are rubbing it on my face that I've missed one of the most wonderful opportunities in my life."

Yes, he did.

Shirou might have promised himself to become a great self-less hero, but none of that put him above a jealous man. Right now, his ego that has been pushed underground by the association for three years stood up with dignity, and broke a cry of victory to the world.

Yes, he might be a second choice. But Tohsaka still chose him.

It was all up to Shirou to advance it to a further stage.

Yes, he should confess his love to her. Right on the day they'd dance together.

Casey on the other hand looked pissed. Not at someone else, but at himself. However, he forced a smile onto his lips. "Good luck," he muttered, before he turned his back on Shirou.

* * *

The land was barren, no matter which direction he looked. Debris, that were once great structures lay in a mass of blackness. The blazing fire was engulfing whatever that seemed to have been left on the land.

The sky was dark, the stars weren't visible, and there was no trace of the moon. The smoke made sure none of that could be seen.

The air smelled like burnt thrash, which was precisely what was around him.

On closer inspection, the things that were on fire were some of kind mechanical devices. Knightmare Frames.

There were signs of humans, burnt to crisp inside the machines itself. Some of them were splatters of blood and flesh. Some of them were charcoal. None of them remotely resembled a living human.

_'At least, I wasn't burnt alive.'_ Those were Lelouch's thoughts when he saw the scenery around.

He was thrown into the middle of a battlefield. Apparently, the fight was over.

So what was he supposed to do save?

**A lot of things are happening. Shirou's state of happiness has just bumped up after a steady fall. Lelouch, although finally came in terms with his new life on Avalon and started enjoying it, he starts comparing Arturia with Nunnally. **

**On the other hand, a mysterious force has been stalking C.C. What is this mysterious force's motive? It's unknown.**


	7. From Zero to Infinity

**I took a while for the update. I hope it's worth the wait for you guys :p**

**7. From Zero to Infinity**

On the barren land, under the engulfing darkness called night, with no one else but the silent wind to his company, the man dressed in the white robes stood like a carved statue, with violet eyes that carried a light of their own.

The wind that swept past his face carried the foul odor of death that could make the lesser beings puke. But the Demon Emperor hardly put any attention on it. He was simply standing there watching the nothingness around him.

"So," he muttered to himself, despite the lack of reason to do so. "This is the world I saved huh," he chuckled to himself. It was unclear to him, whether it was a joke or not.

* * *

**Year 2154 a.t.b**

**The Ruins of Japan**

On the lands devoid of any kind of life, let alone human, in the silence that was seemingly endless and undisturbed, two immense humanoid objects dashed through the rocky lands, at a speed no human could ever dream to keep up with.

The relatively soft ground broke into crumbles as the shafts of the Landspinner Propulsion System crunched the barren land, giving the rollers an easy surface to traverse on.

"Control to Unit P-6," a voice that carried authority rang through the speakers inside the cockpit.

"This is Sir Reynolds from Unit P-6," the man inside the cockpit answered, "I hear you loud and clear."

"I want a status report," the voice demanded.

"We're combing the war zone," Sir Reynolds replied, "Apparently nothing's left here, sir. The attack has turned everything into a pile of dust."

"Good," the satisfied voice replied. "Just in case. If you spot anything or anyone…" there was a pause, "Obliterate them," said the voice before disappearing, leaving the pilot inside with a wry smile.

"I can't believe we're doing this," he talked into the microphone that rang his voice through the speakers of the humanoid weapon system popularly known as the Knightmare Frame. "We're searching for nothing in an empty land because they're paranoid? Give me a break."

The Knightmare Frames continued to zoom through the wasteland. All though nothing like a landmark was left, the pilots thankfully have a map that showed the boundaries of the area they were supposed to search.

They jumped from a decent height after traversing uphill for two minutes. "Well, no matter what's the warzone, there's always a lucky soul here and there," the pilot of the second Knightmare replied. "We can't afford any of them living. Not after what we did to them."

"Can _anything_ survive _this?"_ Sir Reynolds asked, incredulous as to how simple-minded his teammate was. He would believe that the world wasn't round if the higher-ups told him so.

No sooner did those words came out of Sir Reynolds's mouth, the other Knightmare frame came to a screeching halt. "What in the world!" The pilot exclaimed.

Sir Reynolds immediately braked his own Knightmare to a stop. He looked at what caused them to halt, wide-eyed. "Well you never know," he muttered unconsciously. He was a bit more than startled.

In the otherwise empty and dark expanse of what was once Japan, a strange man in a white dress stood right in front of their vehicles.

"Who the heck is he?" Sir Reynolds asked the other Knight through the internal communication system.

He zoomed in on the standing person to get a closer look at him. The man had a long raven hair that reached his shoulders. His lips were firm, and the violet eyes that scrutinized them intently, had a terrifying depth behind them akin to a wolf.

"A survivor?" The other Knight replied.

That was obvious, Reynolds thought. But there was something _odd_ about him. He looked familiar. He could have seen this person somewhere. He looked like a Britannian, a high-class Britannian to be precise. His clothes were old-fashioned, but still looked royal.

He could be on their side, judging by the fact that he looked Britannian. Then why was he standing here, in the middle of an enemy country after they have devastated it?

The Knight didn't want to take his chances. He might seem paranoid, but the fact that there was a survivor in midst of a destructive blast alarmed him.

Had he turned the thermal scanner of his device on, then he would have had his doubts confirmed.

* * *

Lelouch examined the Knightmare Frames that stood before him. The greenish sphere below the Knightmare's shoulder blinked with a red light. The so-called Factspheres were obviously scanning him. Somehow seeing the Knightmare Frames made him feel…well, nostalgic.

Sensing the odd silence on the pilot's part, Lelouch lifted his hands into the air. He immediately shifted into a melancholic expression. "I'm a civilian caught up in all this. My family has been buried alive and I have nowhere else to go."

The silence on the Knight's part continued. But of course, he was wearing an oddly good-looking dress in the midst of finely grinded settlements. If those people were to believe him immediately, it would hurt their credibility.

He expected a few questions. Since he was unarmed he could lure them out into talking, and then he could start the real game. Starting with one question of course—

What the hell's going here?

The Knight finally broke the silence. "We're sorry for your loss," the voice through the speakers said.

_'Sorry?'_ The word sorry had only two possible meanings. One, something awful has happened. And two—

Something awful will happen.

The Knightmare extracted a gun from the slot on its right leg, and aimed the oversized gun at Lelouch. "We'll send you straight back to them!"

He was in danger.

Lelouch's muscles tensed as he saw the Knightmare click the trigger. The natural sense of danger every human possessed activated his reflexes.

The Knightmare opened the fire. Multiple bullets were shot out from the gun to skewer the Demon Emperor. Normally, he should have felt the bullets passing through him as soon as he heard the shot. Instead, something brilliant happened.

He noticed that around fifteen orange flashes of light dashed towards him at an incredible speed, incomprehensible by ordinary humans. Lelouch, however, could spot each one of them coming at him. It was absurd, and could be comprehended only by a spirit that had crossed human limits.

He barely skirted to the right as the first flash of a bullet struck where he once stood. The second came right where he jumped to not so later, but Lelouch with an amazing reflex he never possessed jumped back, avoiding a third bullet before it hit him in the process, but the fourth exploded right beside where he landed, forcing the Counter Guardian to retrace back.

In the eyes of anyone else, it was a miraculous feat. The man in white skipped between bullets as if they were stones that were simply being hurled at him.

The game wasn't as one-sided as the onlookers would assume because Lelouch was in fact barely dodging them. The game didn't continue long, as a bullet finally managed to pass through Lelouch's right ankle.

The Demon Emperor uttered a small curse as he buckled down onto his left knee. The Knightmare's fire stopped immediately after that, as the pilot stopped the fire. However, taking the opportunity Lelouch took a long inhuman leap and hid behind a small rock.

He crashed on his bottom, making sure that he was completely out of the Knightmare's fire range. "I guess physical strength isn't my stronghold after all," he muttered painfully. Well, it was worth a try and was fun while it lasted.

The sharp pain in his ankle seems to have been numbing slowly, making him wonder if his leg was still in one piece. He lifted the white pant up, expecting a deep gash or a bloody hole on his knee.

Except, what he saw a red patch of blood that thinned down magically into nothing, closing down what seems to have been a deep cut. In just few seconds his leg was back to normal, as fresh as ever.

It was without a doubt the work of Alaya. The immense prana bank obviously spent some to replenish him.

Interesting.

* * *

Sir Reynolds was honestly tensed by the man in white robes. The guy dodged his bullets for quite a while before getting hit. His fears were somewhat confounded. This man wasn't an ordinary one. If they'd leave him alone, it might backfire on them.

He pressed the communication button and spoke to his teammate, "He's dangerous. I'll destroy him before he gets away."

He released the gun from the Knightmare's grip and extracted a rifle attached to the back of the huge vehicle.

Reynolds's friend was surprised by his move. "You are using the Hadron Rifle?" He asked.

"I want to finish this once and for all," the Knight replied, and pulled the trigger.

The large rifle gave a characteristic noise, as energy filled the rifle completely until the tip. With one huge jerk that pushed back the Knightmare slightly, the rifle shot the powerful wave of pure energy at the intended target.

The bright mass of energy struck the boulder, before giving off a huge explosion. Orange flames erupted in the flash of a second and disappeared just as quickly, leaving a black cloud in its place.

Sir Reynolds stood firmly, waiting to see the destruction he made.

The black cloud cleared slowly giving away what hid behind it. A crater that didn't exist a few seconds ago had now formed where the explosion took place. Steaming hot gases seemed to ventilate out through the ground that seemed to be carved by the destruction.

The Knight smiled proudly, as he lifted the rifle back to an upright position.

As for the man, he simply disappeared from the sight. It was something Sir Reynolds expected because such was the rifle's power.

The Knight's happiness didn't stay long. _"Have the people of the world gone so low…"_ A mystic voice reverberated around him. _"So low that you wouldn't even trust an unarmed man with help."_

The voice caused the Knight's heart to skip a beat. "Who's there?" Sir Reynolds jumped at once.

_"Is it because killing seems to be an easy thing to do?"_ The voice heedless of his reaction asked, mockingly. _"Or is it because that you didn't know that…"_

Out of nowhere, the man in the white royal clothing appeared right before Sir Reynolds, like a true ghost.

"The only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed."

* * *

Lelouch watched the Knight before squirm in fear. Anyone would be scared out of their wits if a ghost appeared right before their eyes. To his credit, he decided to ignore the absurdity and attacked Lelouch.

Sir Reynolds threw a punch that Lelouch wouldn't have been able to take normally. He dodged the attack with and threw a punch straight on the Knight's face. The impact made the man struck the control board behind him with enough force to bounce back at Lelouch.

The Knight staggered himself to a straight position, as he felt the blood trickling down his face with his hand. "You…are a monster!" His hands reflexively grabbed for the gun in his pocket.

But the demon emperor moved swiftly, and hit the human into submission.

* * *

The commotion didn't go unnoticed by the second Knight. "Sir Reynolds?" He called the fellow pilot.

There was no response from the other Knightmare. Somehow, the ridiculousness of a man standing unscathed in a _white _dress in the midst of the barren land, the way he dodged the bullets from a Knightmare's gun made him suspicious.

He paused for a tentative second and then clicked the green button, "P-6 to Control," his voice shook. "I-I, I, uh, think something's wrong with Sir Reynolds. I…I'm going to shoot him."

He didn't wait for a reply. He took a similar Hadron Rifle and aimed at the other Knightmare.

Meanwhile a panicked voice yelled, "Control to P-6! What the hell are you—"

A deafening noise clouded the voice coming through the speakers. The area where Sir Reynolds's Knightmare stood a while ago was now a burning mass of metal that slowly crumbled to the ground like the rest of things around it.

The Knight watched the destruction of the opposing Knightmare in silence. He ignored the nagging yells through the speakers. He didn't know what happened or what would happen. He was simply happy at that moment. Happy that whatever danger stood was now destroyed. He sighed in relief and relaxed back on the seat—

Only to have his eyes meet with a pair of violet eyes.

He should have been startled to death. He should have jumped in panic and attacked the owner of the eyes. But he didn't do either. Instead, he simply looked into the Charismatic eyes that enchanted him into stillness.

The violet eyes each, had a bird like sigil on them. The last of the things he heard as he drifted into unconsciousness were _"Report whatever I say to your command unit."_

* * *

"Vice Chancellor," a feminine voice greeted the man to attention. A woman in a black business suit stood before him. She had a blonde hair, tied up and wore thin-frame glasses over her grey eyes.

The man in his fifties grunted without even looking at her, "What is it, Courtney?" He was skimming through tons of papers. The World War was the worst time for being in a position of authority. He had tons of paperwork to do, and on top of that he had to handle new headaches on a daily basis.

"We have just received information from our Chinese spies," the woman said. "The White Knights are planning to give us a surprise attack."

The Vice Chancellor paused whatever he was doing. The news that the world's most lethal extremists would soon be striking your country was definitely something one would consider over paperwork. He closed his eyes and sighed, "I knew this would happen someday when the Chinese decided to give them their support."

The woman nodded, "What should we do?" The Chancellor was hiding in the capital New Pendragon under the excuse of some work. The Australian country was far from safe. If it weren't a U.F.N member country it could have been demolished by now.

The Vice Chancellor stood up from his chair. "Arrange a meeting with the Black Knights. I'd like to have a word with Zero."

* * *

Unit P-7 of the U.F.N Black Knights was backtracking its way from Japan in the north to the southern continent of Australia.

The team was composed of seven Knightmares called the Black Cats, known for their stealth and their expertise as a reconnaissance team.

They were sent to know what in the world happened to the two member Unit P-6. Although the members itself were expendable, the event wasn't. If it were the work of the enemy unit, then they have been violating the agreement not to use Japan as a war zone anymore.

In the end, they couldn't figure anything else, other than the fact that one of the units destroyed the other and then self-destructed. What they didn't notice however was the invisible presence sitting on their leader's Knightmare frame.

Lelouch was in his spirit form. It was much more comfortable than the material form. He was forced to destroy either of the targets who spotted him earlier. Since his physical capabilities were vastly improved, he honestly expected to surpass the Knightmare's weapon system. Apparently, he was as vulnerable as a human as long as he was in his material form. Alaya would easily heal any damage done to all other body parts but the heart and brain. He had to be careful. The spirit form was another story though.

Considering all this, he used Geass to make the Knight send a false report to make them send back up. He was now using the back up Knightmare to take himself to the command unit. He had many questions to ask and things to know, but he felt it was better used against a leader than some low ranking officer.

Do things as discreetly as possible was his current policy. There was no reason to use foolish antics and declare his presence publicly. It wouldn't give any results than give him some self-satisfaction.

He overheard a couple of things from the conversations the Knights were having. The little amount of information he gathered was that a world war of some sort was going on. The source of the war was Japan being completely destroyed. And most importantly, the people he fought and was now tailing belong to an organization called the Black Knights.

He might have been invisible, but he knew he was smiling. It's been 150 years, and the Zero Requiem was still alive. Suzaku had done an amazing job obviously, and must have handed the torch to someone else.

The news also made him unhappy. How come there was a world war going on when the Black Knights were still around? Did the people of the world split into factions again? Why was Japan destroyed in the first place? Destroying a country wasn't something that can be taken so lightly.

So was this his mission? To protect the world from the World War? Was his summoning, the answer for the calls of the billions of people who suffered from the death trap called war?

It could mean that the Zero of the present era was doing his job pretty badly.

Nevertheless, he needs to meet Zero.

* * *

Zero.

He was nothing but a faceless leader. Nobody knew if the Zero they spoke with today was the same as yesterday. He was simply a symbol who pushed the force called Black Knights. People never asked for his identity. They simply followed him.

The said man now was before the Vice Chancellor. He wore a black mask over an equally black dress, and a black cape.

The Vice Chancellor wasn't sure if Zero was happy, sad, grim or deep in thought at the moment. His facial expressions were always covered up by his mask, making it impossible for the Vice Chancellor to know who was he or what kind of a person he was.

"Consider it done," Zero spoke at last. Judging by the boyish voice he had, he could be around sixteen, the Vice Chancellor assumed. His height matched up to the old man's assumptions, confirming his opinion on the boy. Nevertheless, he had a high opinion of Zero, and nothing would tarnish it.

"Thank you very much, Zero," he extended an arm shake hands. Zero, ignoring the hand simply stood up and turned back to leave.

"I'd prefer if you hold your end of the deal though," he muttered. "Lately I've been hearing about your financial support to Britannia."

The Vice Chancellor's face went pale. "I-It was a simply business transaction. We don't harbor any other ill intentions."

"I hope so," Zero muttered. "For your sake at least."

With that the enigma called Zero walked out of the room and slowly disappeared from the Vice Chancellor's vision.

The Vice Chancellor removed his glasses and wiped the sweat dripping off his forehead. He exchanged a glance with the blonde woman left inside. She shook her head in acknowledgment.

* * *

The middle-aged man stood up as he spotted Zero walk out of the Chancellor's Palace. He was sitting by the grand fountain inside the establishment, waiting for the man who walked out.

The enigmatic figure walked with short, brisk steps that never wavered in pace like his confidence. His posture wasn't anything less than perfect. As his face was always hidden, he had to constantly exhume an aura with his actions to show his leadership over everyone else.

"Lieutenant," Zero greeted the man with an invisible smile.

The man smiled back in return, "Zero."

"What's the news?" Zero asked as he continued to walk with the same pace when he crossed the Lieutenant, forcing him to pace up with Zero.

"One of the Units destroyed the other and then self-destructed," he reported duly. "The cause was unknown."

"I talked with Sir Richardson before we lost contact," Zero spoke, "He's probably killed Sir Reynolds."

"But why?" The lieutenant asked. "I don't see any valid reason. Sir Richardson was one of the most loyal members. He maybe Britannian but his family served the Black Knights for three generations."

The duo walked past the main gate at this point. A limousine stood before them. The driver of the vehicle was standing by the backseat's door. He opened it as the CEO of Black Knights approached the vehicle.

Zero paused as he walked towards the car, and looked to his right. "I think I know why," he spoke as he continued to stare intently.

The lieutenant turned in the same direction where Zero stared at. The footpath that extended along the main road was mostly empty sans the couple of ordinary people who were busy with their own lives. The lieutenant turned back to Zero and gave him a confused look.

Except, the said man wasn't still standing at the spot. He was already inside the vehicle that revved up with power.

The lieutenant who was still confused gave the CEO a last minute salute as the vehicle headed to its next destination, the Australian head office of the Black Knights.

* * *

Lelouch was honestly startled. For a second he thought the masked man Zero was looking at him. He still didn't cross out the possibility either. The masked man was either looking at him or he was looking in the direction generally.

The former didn't make sense because he was in his spirit form, and he wasn't foolish enough to consider the latter.

Interesting.

Zero would most probably be heading towards his headquarters, so it would be for the best if he simply go to that place rather than follow him by road.

Being a spirit, travelling around was in fact simply floating. He could go as fast as the situation demanded to as Alaya was the one who would be supplying him enough mana to do anything.

Within the next few seconds he was sitting on a dome shaped building, which was popularly called the Black Knights' HQ in his material form. Even if the spirit form was advantageous tactically he didn't like the idea of getting used to being a ghost.

The Head Quarters seem to double as a control unit. There were Knightmare launch systems all over the establishment. The Knightmares might've been hidden somewhere underground, ready to be disposed into battles when required. So far, as a person Zero didn't disappoint him. But he barely studied him earlier, so it could be that his opinion was biased. Besides, he saw the tragic death land Japan has become. No matter how impressive he acts, he was still unimpressive because he failed to save an entire country, let alone a city or a settlement.

Fifteen minutes later, he spotted the same limousine drive into the establishment.

"Let's see how interesting you are," he mumbled. "Zero."

The Counter Guardian disappeared into thin air right after.

* * *

Zero never lowered his pace. He always made people catch up to him. The Chief Commissioner of Police was no exception. He had a stout personality that reminded you more of a sphere than a man. He had to work a sweat to catch up with the masked hero. "Zero," he called. They were on the way to Zero's office at the other end of the corridor.

"Yes, Chief," Zero replied.

"We were contacted by your secretary a few minutes ago," he said as he puffed for breath. "Is it true that the white Knights will be attacking us?"

Zero paused as he reached his office. He exchanged a glance with his secretary and then spoke to the chief, "It's true and I expect you've already made the necessary countermeasures?"

"Uh," the chief held his breath. "I'm sorry. I was—"

"I expect full cooperation from your side. The Australian government has agreed to cooperate with us. So please kindly leave right now and prep up your anti-terrorist squads."

The man watched Zero dumbfounded as the masked man entered his chambers. His secretary, a little brown haired woman followed him inside.

"Vanessa," Zero said to the woman. "Could you leave me alone for some time?"

The woman looked at him quizzically, but didn't hesitate to step out as requested.

* * *

The spirit waited as Zero walked in alone after latching the door close.

"Being Zero is such a tiring thing…" he muttered as his shoulders slumped.

_'He speaks as if he was being forced to be Zero,'_ Lelouch thought. Could such a thing be even possible? If anyone were to be forced to become Zero it should be some senior officer or an experienced fighter. Not someone who sounds like a whiny little brat.

Lelouch had been planning various methods to surprise Zero. He'd have to somehow force Zero into answering his questions, figure out what's happening, and find what the Demon Emperor should be saving the billions of humans from and _then_ leave the place. That was the little agenda he had in mind.

In the worst case he'd have to kill Zero, but having Geass means he needn't resort to that. Either way he had to be careful. If this guy was Zero, he's bound to be intelligent.

While he had those things in mind, Zero did something that startled him the most.

Zero turned behind, looking in the direction where Lelouch was and spoke, "I was speaking to you by the way."

_'What?'_ Lelouch exclaimed silently. This has to be a coincidence. There's no way he could be seen by a human.

The mysterious Zero chuckled, "I've caught you off guard didn't I, Demon Emperor Lelouch?"

The Demon Emperor involuntarily held his breath. The eyes that scanned the masked man opened wide in surprise. But the reaction changed pretty quickly. He narrowed his eyes in a frown as what was once nothing but thin air slowly materialized into the hero in white, Lelouch Vi Britannia.

"You recover quickly even when you face the most startling news," Zero spoke. "I'm already in love with you."

Lelouch returned him a majestic smile, "Likewise. You weren't exactly surprised when you saw the ghost of an emperor from 150 years ago."

"I can't afford to be surprised," Zero replied, "So, why exactly am I speaking to you right now?"

"I'd prefer taking the lead on the questions," Lelouch replied.

"No, you don't," the masked man replied with a haughty smile. "Don't be mistaken, Lelouch." Zero sat on the desk nearby. "Unlike you I don't take pride on little things. But I do like playing with you," he chuckled.

Or to be accurate, _she_ chuckled.

This guy—He wasn't even a guy. The boyish voice he carried till now was an act. The person behind the mask was in fact a woman.

"Surprised again?" She laughed. "Yep, I'm a woman." She removed the cloak, revealing a neatly packed chest. Unless one examined her closely, no one would figure out that she was in fact a woman.

"Your gender doesn't make any difference," Lelouch sighed. But honestly, what's up with her playful attitude? It reminded him of C.C. Could it be?

"C.C?" Lelouch asked, somewhat unsure. The voice seemed different, but…

The woman took a deep breath, "You might have hit the nail over there," she said seriously. But not a moment later she burst into laughter. "Or not."

She wasn't C.C? Then she knows C.C? Who the heck was this woman?

"You could choose not to answer my questions," he spoke in a threatening voice. "But if you don't, I may have to force you."

"You're not the kind to threaten people," the woman replied confidently, "If you really wanted to force the answer out of me, you'd have done already. I know you inside out, Lelouch."

Lelouch's mind was completely blank. What was going on here? _He_ was the counter guardian over here. _He_ should be the one to surprise this strange woman. But instead, why was he on the receiving end of the surprises?

"Before you come to any conclusions," the woman said, "Let me just say the two of us have never met in our life time. I'm not Nunnally or C.C or anyone who knows you for that matter."

Then who was she?

"I won't answer who I am, but I'll answer your other questions. You can save your Geass for later, what do you say?"

Lelouch's frown softened. "Very well," he said. "I'll put the mystery of your identity for later. But what do you expect from me in return?"

"You're an honorable man," she chuckled once more. "And you're undoubtedly smart. All I want you to do is help me out in defeating the White Knights."

The information he needed to save the world for her enemies. It may not sound like the best of the deals, but it still was a good one.

"As a symbol of my trust," she surprisingly removed the helmet attached to her face.

Lelouch watched in awe when a feminine face was exposed as the woman freed the last tendrils of her hair from the helmet. She was a beautiful woman with a light blonde hair and teal colored eyes. Her eyes carried a hint of childishness and her lips were curled up in a smile. "My name's Alexia. It's nice to meet the original Zero for a change."

"Don't be mistaken," Lelouch smiled back. "You're as real as I was."

"Right," she nodded. "So what exactly would you like to know?"

"Everything," he frowned. "From the day I died." Somehow he liked saying that.

She nodded. "I have the perfect place to tell you the story."

* * *

The Hall of Memories.

It was really the name of the place where the lone pair was walking in. Well, one of them was invisible.

"This place contains memories of the Black Knights from your times till the present," Alexia gestured at everything around. "We shifted our base seven times in 150 years. We carry them each time we move from place to place."

The hall was filled with wall paintings from centuries back to the present. Memorable artifacts of the Black Knights were arranged neatly in a row. He identified some of them, like Guren's enormous radio surge hand.

The noticeable portrait among them was the larger than life-sized one in the center. The portrait belonged to a woman in her late-twenties. She had a long sandy brown colored hair that reached her hips, violet eyes and a kind smile that would make anyone fall in love with her. She was seated on a grand throne, with a diamond studded gold crown and a satin pink gown.

A smile spread on Lelouch's face, but it grew into a surprise when he saw the next portrait.

"You look a lot domestic in the portrait," she smiled at the picture.

"Who drew this?" Lelouch asked. The Lelouch in the picture had a kind smile on his face. Lelouch never remembered anyone seeing him as a kind Emperor. But the person in the portrait was definitely him, and he looked kind.

"Empress Nunnally Vi Britannia," Alexia replied much to Lelouch's surprise, "History says she believes her brother to be the kindest human being she ever met. I assure you, the people saw it as her own kindness and sibling love rather than your smile. It's popularly called 'The Empress's Love'."

The world truly hated him. The fact was brought into Lelouch's attention one more time. The appearance he wore now was a materialization of how people remembered him. Why else would he have a longer hair and canine teeth?

The portrait eased something in Lelouch's heart. All the while in his life after death, the tinge of regret that he was remembered as a demon followed him. He may have declared that he was prepared to face it, but it didn't deny the fact that he didn't feel well about it. But this portrait, it removed all such unease away from his heart. 'The Empress's Love' has indeed given him the salvation he very much needed.

Alexia placed a hand on the portrait, "The Empress ruled the world like no one else in history did. She was a kind woman, but she wasn't weak. She managed to put the entire world under order by splitting the power perfectly. The U.F.N countries have all surrendered their military powers. Instead, each country was to pay a fixed percentage of their incomes for maintaining military. The military power was completely controlled by the Black Knights. No country had choice on that matter. But the administrative power of the U.F.N made sure that no country would face problem because of this division."

"To summarize," Lelouch said, "The U.F.N and Black Knights had a symbiotic relation. One cannot exist without the other. A perfect administration without any faults, as long as—"

"The Black Knights don't let any country to build their own military power," Alexia finished. "Unfortunately, that was what happened fifteen years ago."

"The mistake was having too many Japanese in the leading positions," Alexia continued. "It's true that the Japanese were one of the most oppressed during your time, but about hundred and thirty years later, the situation was quite the opposite. The Black Knights were perfectly fine as long as Empress Nunnally was alive, and she was for 101 long years. The day she died of age, everything changed."

Lelouch frowned. He had always wanted to create a gentle world for Nunnally, and assumed he did so with his death. He was wrong. He only gave Nunnally the platform to fight for a world she needed.

"The new generation of Japanese only knew the pain their ancestors faced, they could never comprehend it. They used it as a petty excuse to build a secret military service. The Black Knights weren't fools. We knew what was happening and questioned the same in the U.F.N meeting. Their defense was that they were oppressed 100 years ago and they didn't want to happen it again.

The Japanese started doing things openly after that. They had something other nations didn't, the Sakuradite reserves throughout their country. They broke out of U.F.N, cancelled all sorts of Sakuradite trading with the Black Knights. They indiscriminately killed the other national officials of Black Knights during a meeting three years ago. It was historic.

The Japanese were ready to attack the remaining nations anytime, and with Knightmares supported by a superior fuel system no one would have been able to stop them. That's when Zero entered the scene."

Lelouch's face was expressionless. He could comprehend the reason behind Zero's move, he could comprehend why the Japanese changed, but what happened was still unforgivable.

"That's only one side of the story Lelouch," she smiled derisively, "The Britannian narration of events of course."

"Nunnally has completely stripped Britannia's former power and glory to make the country even with the other nations. About eighty percent of the original Britannia was liberated into smaller nations. Like I said Lelouch, the people of your time were noble. They've faced the worst and agreed to power down Britannia as a measure of equality. But the new generation wasn't so noble.

The Empress's successors weren't happy as they always heard the so called glory of Britannia through stories, history books. Nunnally put them all down with an iron fist as long as she was alive. In her last days, one of her Grandson Damien Vi Britannia took over the Britannian faction of the Black Knights and made elaborate plots to restore their former glory. The Japanese, like most of the nation that experienced Britannian rule caught wind of it, but they were the only ones with the power to fight Britannia back. They simply broke up and decided to strike before Britannia did. It was a simple act of revenge camouflaged under the pretense of preventing an oppressive rule."

Lelouch listened to her story, eyes closed. He couldn't even know if he should be laughing at the foolishness of these people or cry for how they threw the sacrifices of their ancestors into ash. It was disgusting.

"Back then Zero was Damien Vi Britannia's grandson. After Nunnally died around forty years ago, Damien found that his own seventeen year old grandson was Zero. He killed Zero, and declared the end of the Zero Requiem. Zero was never seen again, not until three years ago. He returned to save the world, this time from the Japanese. The best course of action was to destroy their power source, the Sakuradite."

The Demon Emperor glared at the woman who passed herself as Zero. He didn't detect much pain or regret in her voice. It was as if she only did the inevitable. "The fallen Japanese, have formed a new organization called the White Knights. They have only one goal, to destroy the Black Knights and the countries that support it.

Ever since the White Knights have become active, smaller countries have become terrified of taking support of the Black Knights. Amidst all this chaos, Britannia and a couple of other European countries have each formed their own militaries and are ready to gun each other or any other country in the world. We had to shift bases because of that. Even the Australians might be jumping to Britannia's side as we speak. The only way for this to end is to bring Black Knights up in the power again. For that, I need to beat the White Knights."

Lelouch understood the inherent meaning behind her words. If he were to support and help her destroy the White Knights, the world peace will be restored partially, if not completely.

So this was the mission Alaya sent him for? Alaya gave too much detailed info on things unneeded like the modern style of dressing, cultures, vehicles but described the details of his mission as: 'Extermination of a group of humans to save the integrity of Alaya.'

But before he jumped to the conclusion that this was the mission he was summoned for, he needed to confirm a few things. "If you are smart enough to demolish an entire country in the span of three years, why would you need my help?"

She replied to this, "Because the leader of the White Knights is a lot smarter than me."

"Who is he?" Lelouch asked.

Alexia smiled at this, "He's a masked hero, who goes by the name Infinity."

"Infinity," Lelouch mused at the name. Infinity definitely had a good sense of humor. Because his name itself made Lelouch chuckle.

Alexia shared the laugh too. "Well, he isn't that funny when he bombs people to death," her voice grew serious. "If my calculations are correct, he could be attacking us anytime soon."

"Fine," Lelouch muttered. "Consider it done."

Lelouch wasn't happy with how things turned out, but at least there was the personal satisfaction of fighting a truly smart opponent.

**A chapter entirely dedicated to Lelouch? Well I tried something new :p The next chapter will be the same hopefully...Do review and critique as usual.**


	8. The Thought Elevator

**8. The Thought Elevator**

The man in white stood on the tallest building of the Australian capital. The wind breezed blowing the bangs on his face. From where he stood, the people down were only small dots, and the cars were ants that wormed their way through the traffic.

He had been chalking strategies to find a way to defeat the white Knights and destroy Infinity. He had a simple option, use his Noble Phantasm, over a wide range. His Noble Phantasm shouldn't be mistaken with his Mystic Eyes, Geass. He wasn't sure why it was incorporated in such a fashion, but Geass was included as a natural ability of his rather than a Noble Phantasm that required a decent amount of prana.

Nevertheless, it paid him off because he could conserve as much energy as he could for the sake of his Noble Phantasm. Now that would take a good amount of energy. But it wasn't worth it. It was a foolproof plan, but also a foolish plan.

Besides it would be boring if he used his Noble Phantasm right away. He shouldn't be using it on people who don't deserve.

He took a deep sigh. Waiting for the enemy to come was tiring. If Zero's predictions were correct, Infinity should have begun his attack by now. Or—

Could it be?

Lelouch immediately dematerialized from his position.

The next time he materialized he was in Zero's room. The woman was wearing her mask and was facing the wall rather than the door. Apparently the door wasn't locked. Lelouch did her a favor by latching the door close.

The woman turned around, noticing the slight disturbance. "You surprised me," she said, now facing Lelouch.

"Have you made sure all the check posts were fitted with tight security?" He asked.

She nodded, "No one's going to sneak in. We have blocked entry into the city. Even the Viceroy himself won't be able to get in."

Lelouch frowned at this. He held his chin thoughtfully. "I don't believe Geass is common knowledge in this era?"

"No, it isn't," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"Our enemy was blocked from sneaking and bombing us. So he can't touch us from the inside," Lelouch explained. "If I were in his place, and I was prepared enough I'd have started a Knightmare assault."

"It'd be disadvantageous for him," she said, "He knows we're well prepared for an assault."

"Precisely," Lelouch nodded. "This is why he'd try to put us in confusion. So he should be attacking us from the inside."

"But we made sure it isn't possible," Zero's face was hidden, but she was definitely smirking confidently.

"And he hadn't done anything about it yet," Lelouch said in a low voice. "This is why I suspect he has a Geass that'd let him in without trouble."

Zero looked like she was taken aback. "I see," she lowered her head. "You are indeed a notch above me."

Well it might not be completely true. She simply hadn't thought about the possibility. He didn't know how or why but she was familiar about Geass. But unlike her, Lelouch had actually used his Geass to his advantage, so it was simple to think along those lines.

Although, "Yes, you should have thought that he had found some way to worm himself inside," Lelouch said. "It's always better to overestimate the enemy, especially when he's someone capable like Infinity. I'm afraid we might hear a couple of explosions any time soon."

Zero stood up from her place. She hadn't lost her composure, but it was time for her to make some moves. She pressed the switch for the intercom and spoke with a boyish voice, "Vanessa, get ready to launch the Knightmare Frames any—"

At that moment a deafening explosion shook the entire building. Zero immediately swiveled her head to Lelouch, "It's begun."

Lelouch clenched his fists. This was precisely the time for him to get into action. The more lives he could save the better for his count.

In the next instant, the man named Lelouch disappeared from the scene, leaving Zero alone.

* * *

The 'Business Street' was one of the most crowded areas in the capital city. The roads were always clogged with people. The only restaurant, in the entire street filled with the administrative offices of various firms was worse. People constantly pushing each other to enjoy a simple breakfast was a common scene. For a terrorist, whose business relied on killing as many people as possible it was a perfect spot.

The instant the explosion happened most people didn't even knew they were caught in it.

The flames of energy burst the box called the restaurant open, shattering the glass into pieces and catch more people outside it.

Those who survived could only watch the gore scene. Masses of burnt flesh was scattered all over the street. The buildings nearby were smeared in a black paint of soot, with the occasional shade of red. Bodies that were charred lay everywhere, some completely burned, some still burning and a few still moving albeit with a lot of pain.

In the shock, the survivors didn't notice the looming mass of the seven storied building that slowly crash down on them, thanks to the foundations in front that was completely destroyed. They were simply too dazed to move as the impact of the explosion still shivered their unresponsive bodies.

"Lelouch Vi Britannia commands every one of you," at that moment a man in white appeared out of thin air, before the collapsing building. Involuntarily their eyes were attracted to the mystic eyes the man possessed, "Live!"

As if struck by sudden realization the unresponsive crowd began to move. Some stumbled themselves to their feet while a few desperately jumped out of the way. He was about to dematerialize when he noticed an old man who couldn't do neither. The old man's legs were burned from the explosion, and couldn't run or jump out of his way. But instead of giving up, he desperately crawled his way out trying to save his own life despite there was no chance for him to do so.

"My command?" Lelouch muttered in shock. He immediately rushed at the old man and lifted him up.

The shadow of the falling debris grew darker and darker. Lelouch realized the structure behind him was dangerously close to the ground. He immediately tossed the man as far as he could with all the physical energy he could muster.

An immense pain struck Lelouch in his back as something sharp dug into him from behind. He uttered a deep curse before dematerializing immediately.

The Demon Emperor materialized a few meters away from the rubble the building has turned into. The white coat was drenched in deep red, but the injury itself seemed to be healing.

How many lives did he save? He looked around and spotted a couple of men still reeling from the Geass he gave them. They were all on the verge of death, but the demon emperor's command forced them to fight it, painfully. He spotted a couple of moving figures under the rubble. Unlike the old man, they weren't lucky enough to be tossed out, and the Geass wasn't enough to push them to safety. And yet, they still tried to come out. Despite the ton of weight over them, despite the fact their vital organs were deeply injured, despite being on the verge of losing their consciousness and life, they pushed themselves meaninglessly just because they were ordered to live.

Lelouch felt disgusted at himself. His command did more harm than good. In the end he could save only about ten lives.

"Damn you!" He directed his anger to Infinity. However, his voice died down when another explosion shook up the city from somewhere else.

Lelouch gritted his teeth in anger. But that didn't mean his brain stopped working. Lelouch was capable of planning the most devious plans even when he was shook up from the depths of his heart.

The Counter Guardian knew it was futile to try save lives like this. If he needs to save lives on a large scale he should stop the source: Infinity.

He once again materialized on top of the tall building. The sky was no longer a pleasant blue, and the wind wasn't pleasant. Instead a grey cloud darkened the sky, and the wind now smelled of death and explosion.

In the distance, in the sky, however, he spotted small red dots, which without a doubt belonged to the incoming Knightmare Frames.

He looked down at the base of the Black Knights and spotted a good number of Knightmare Frames being launched out.

The white forces launched their Hadron Canons as they closed in, destroying a couple of the Black Knightmare that were stationed outside. But most of them managed to evade and strike the White Knights.

Nonetheless, the civilians were being damaged in the process. This was a wrong place to fight.

"Zero," Lelouch hissed "What the hell are you doing?"

Infinity had completely outclassed Zero. He had the entire city bombed to catch the Black Knights off guard, and then struck the heart of Black Knights directly with his main force.

The Black Knights didn't have any chance of winning. Lelouch could turn this around, but he'd decided to leave the stratagem to Zero and go directly for Infinity. But what if—

It wasn't just a possibility. It could be so. Infinity might not actually be sitting in the attacking Knightmares. Then there was no point in letting the Black Knights get slaughtered.

He observed the White Knights fighting. A certain white bordered by golden Knightmare Frame caught his attention. It was designed similarly to Lancelot, and it was clearly superior when compared to the other ones judging by how it just managed to destroy three Black Knightmares in a wink.

"So, is he the Kallen of White Knights?" A smirk spread across Lelouch's face.

* * *

"We're winning," the second in command of the White Knights exclaimed. "Japan is being avenged." He jumped like a kid.

"You're quite excited aren't you?" The person who spoke was wearing a white mask, fitted with a red visor. He wore a white uniform, with golden lining, including the shape of Japan etched on the back of his cape.

"Yes," the White Knight replied. "The Black Knights will face the consequences for destroying Japan."

"And then?" Infinity asked, standing up from his seat inside their command unit. He chuckled as he walked past his second in command. "You haven't thought about it, did you?"

The doors opened as the Infinity exited.

"Where are you going?" The white knight asked.

Infinity stopped and turned back. "To do what's next…" he paused, "And also meet an ancestor of mine."

The White Knight watched dumbfounded as Infinity disappeared, wondering what exactly the masked man meant by that.

But as soon as the leader disappeared from the control unit, a new message hit the White Knights.

* * *

The tables have turned around. The seemingly losing Black Knights started to gain on the White Knights. It wasn't because of their leader's talent and strategy. Rather it was because of a certain Counter Guardian who was now operating the ace Knightmare of the White Knights. He used their own weapon against them.

The Knightmare of destruction, the Lancelot Optima blitzed past the White Knightmares, destroying each one in the process of doing so.

Lelouch couldn't ask for a better Knightmare. It had excellent response time, and was in fact programmed to be operated by pilots who exceed human limits like Suzaku. Lelouch may not be an extraordinary when he lived, but he was certainly above the human limits as a Heroic Spirit.

Before the enemy Knightmares could figure out what was happening, he destroyed seventeen of them.

The green light that stood for communication beeped. It was something Lelouch anticipated. Infinity would definitely like to know what's wrong before he could defeat all of them. It was perfect bait for Infinity and he could also save the Black Knights in the process. Inferior they maybe, but they weren't incompetent. The Black Knights used the opportunity to en cash it.

He pressed the button, expecting to talk to a masked man. Instead his gaze met up with a furious Japanese. "Who the hell are you? Where is our hero Miyamoto?" The man hissed with extreme hatred.

Lelouch was surprised, but dejected. "I killed him," he said before turning the communication off.

'_So he isn't in the command center now?'_ Lelouch wondered. Infinity wouldn't have passed the opportunity to talk with someone who stole their most valuable Knightmare. So he was obviously not in the command center. Something's fishy.

He stopped his advance and turned around facing the Black Knights' HQ underneath. He immediately rocketed down, startling either force. They couldn't have done anything if he had intended to attack, but he didn't. He landed the machine roughly on the ground and turned into his spirit form.

Seconds later, he was in Zero's Control Room.

His suspicions were true. The room was filled with dead bodies of the commanding members of the Black Knights, and Zero was nowhere to be found.

With a fierce glare that could send a chill down anyone's spine, the savage wolf called Lelouch lunged towards the door and dematerialized just before he hit the entrance.

And materialized once more inside the Lancelot Optima's cockpit. He revved the machine into action and flew straight into the air. "All units!" He yelled through the microphone. "Cover me!"

The Black Knights were confused as to who this new voice was, and why he was commanding them. But they simply followed the man, trusting his leadership.

Lelouch flew straight into the air, inviting tens of White Knights onto himself, but the Black Knights protected the man as commanded. He flew as high as he could until the entire city could come into vision.

He turned the Factspheres's thermal scan on and began scanning the entire city. The Black Knights were puzzled as for what the strange man was doing. But they continued to fend off the White attackers,

The green spherical objects on the Lancelot Optima continued to beep with a red light as Lelouch examined the contents of the vision. He watched as hundreds and thousands of small dots showed up on the screen. They were all ordinary humans, and weren't the center of his attention as he was searching for the extraordinary.

His eyebrows shone in recognition when a red light appeared in the corner. "Found you," Lelouch smirked.

After that, the Factspheres on the Lancelot Optima were turned off, following which the head lights on its eyes, and then the floating system turned off. The white machine then proceeded to crash like a lifeless doll as the rest of the forces watched it fall in astonishment.

The heavy Knightmare landed on the HQ, demolishing the grand building in the process. Nothing much, other than the rising dust was left after the crash.

Needless to say, the pilot simply disappeared.

* * *

The two masked people were only distant dots at first. But as the spirit shot towards them, they slowly shaped into a white and black figure respectively.

They were standing on a bridge connecting to an abandoned warehouse that stood a few feet above the sea. They were standing one opposite the other, as if they were about to have the greatest showdowns.

The sea breeze blew their capes that fluttered with the wind. One of them, the black one had a gun in her hand, while the white simply stood with arms on his hips.

As the spirit approached them, the Black Knight turned around and spotted it. Zero turned to the other masked person, Infinity and said something the spirit didn't hear.

The spirit materialized just before it hit the ground, and the raven haired Emperor landed with an impact that rivaled the wind in power.

Lelouch opened his eyes, glaring at the two people with extreme contempt. His looks seemed like they could freeze their hearts to a stop, which was only amplified by the long hair that flowed down till his shoulders, canine teeth that exposed themselves as he grit his teeth making him look like a demonic human rather than the pleasant image that stood in the paintings of Late Empress Nunnally.

"Infinity," Lelouch muttered coldly, hiding any bit of fire in his heart.

"Lelouch," Infinity greeted back with a confident voice.

Lelouch glared at the woman to his left. "The two of you didn't think you could fool me like the rest of the world, did you?" If it were anyone else they would have shuddered in fear. But Zero didn't.

"No," the answer came from Infinity. "I was in fact counting on you to come here." Infinity said pointing at the emptiness of the place they were. It was isolated. "I thought I'd have the honor of meeting my ancestor in seclusion."

'_What?'_ Lelouch simply raised an eyebrow. The man then proceeded to remove the white helmet off his face, revealing a face that surprised Lelouch the most.

He had a sandy brown colored hair that was similar to his younger sister's except smaller, and had violet eyes that carried hatred, just as Lelouch's . He bowed down to the Emperor, "I introduce myself as Abel Vi Britannia. A direct descendant of yours. I am just like you, both in intelligence and having Geass."

"The hell you are," Lelouch frowned. He turned around, "And you are his—"

"His Immortal Contractor," Alexia didn't let Lelouch finish. She took out her own mask as there was no need to still put it on.

"I should've figured it out when you told you can see me," Lelouch said, bitterly. "So the one who managed to destroy Japan inside out was you," he turned to Abel. "And now you're supporting their revenge?"

"Yes, I have deceived the world," Abel said, "But it was the same thing you did 150 years ago."

How did he—

"I have learned it from C.C," Alexia said, guessing what was going through Lelouch's mind. "Before her death, she shared some of her living consciousness with me. The stunt you pulled back then isn't so different from this." She shrugged, "And I thought you'd understand."

"I didn't slaughter people for nothing," Lelouch retorted.

"And what makes you think we are?" Abel asked.

Lelouch controlled the bursting anger inside him. The images of the dead people kept flashing his mind. But he'd have to listen to the other side of the story. "Then explain," he asked, not lowering his voice.

The guy known as Infinity calmed down as he proceeded to explain. "After your death the world has been rebuilt into a peaceful state. Equality was given due respect. Everything seemed fine for a couple of years. It only _seemed._" His face was filled with intense hatred as he spoke, "The corrupt politics have returned. People started discriminating each other. They hated equality. They found flaws in the system to use them to their advantage.

Three years ago, when I have heard of the Japanese amassing a huge army after cutting the rest of the world off the Sakuradite reserves, I decided to bring Zero back into the equation. I wore the mask. I couldn't have been able to it, without this Geass of course.

I have heard that you have used a similar tactic before. I used their own Sakuradite reserves as their enemy and destroyed each one of them. Millions of people died as a result.

I came across a secret Japanese refugee camp in China after that. I talked to them. I loathed myself for what I've done. But I didn't regret it." He shot a glare at Lelouch, "You get it, don't you?"

The Demon Emperor remained unresponsive.

"After that, Britannia and the European Union and almost every other former superpower in the world began doing the same thing. They lost trust in the Black Knights. In a few years to come, a World War would have begun.

I finally realized conflict is the true nature of humanity. As long as this world exists, war will exist. People will slaughter each other. Then in that case I would simply speed up the process."

Lelouch lost his breath. Infinity wasn't planning on ending this war between the Black Knights and the White Knights. He would force people to take sides, and then kill every last of them.

The man standing before him, he realized. He was an extremist. The worst part? He was smart enough to make it real. And because no one except Alexia had the power to grant Geass he would remain unparalleled.

In fact he's good enough to force Alaya to use its hand, the Counter Force.

Meanwhile Abel himself was studying Lelouch. He smirked, "Lelouch. I've learned about spiritual existences from Alexia. Every time something went wrong, a force beyond any human imagination would appear. Who'd have guessed, the god does answer to people's prayers. I anticipated that I'd be stopped at some point or the other. I didn't expect you though."

Lelouch scoffed at this. "Knowing doesn't make a difference." He was a poor fighter, but he didn't have any other weapons. "I'm going to kill you right here." He lunged at Abel at a speed the human wouldn't be able to react for. As he expected, Abel cowered in fear, startled by the sudden movement. It was a simple head on attack, but Lelouch knew that Alexia would make some move, as a contractor would always value the life of her Geass user.

He turned back all of a sudden, only to spot the woman standing indifferent.

A thought struck him. But it wasn't just Lelouch that the thought struck.

Instantly, the world around him began to distort. The man who was supposed to be standing before him no longer stood. Instead, he spotted something else behind him.

It was Infinity!

The white masked man lunged at Lelouch from behind, a sword in his hand. The sharp end of the weapon was thrust directly at Lelouch's heart.

Unfortunately for Infinity, the sword ended up striking nothing.

The dematerialized Lelouch moved a safe distance away from his opponent. The attack was too close for comfort, Lelouch thought.

"_So, is that your Geass?"_ A dematerialized Lelouch asked. There was nothing they could do to him in this state. It was a stalemate.

Infinity looked around, searching for the voice. "Calm down," Alexia said, "I know where he is."

"It is," Infinity replied. "The Geass of Illusion. Knowing you, you must've figured its drawbacks already."

"_Yes,"_ The Demon Emperor replied haughtily. "_Precisely. Your Geass is similar to my little brother Rolo's. Although it's worse because the moment the one being casted realizes he's under an illusion it breaks. How unlucky for you, because someone who's immune to it isn't exactly an ideal partner."_

Abel chuckled at this, "Unfortunately yes. When I cast this Geass it only affects things spatially. I can't change the way people react to a situation." He clutched to his sword tightly, 'But I do know your weakness too Lelouch."

As long as he has the helmet Lelouch couldn't use his Geass on him, and doing that would be impossible when Alexia could keep a watch on him. But still, the kid was far outclassed by a Heroic Spirit.

"I'm not talking about your Geass by the way," Infinity said after a pause. "Or your physical skill, which is far better than I heard."

"Alexia," he said tossing the sword to the blonde woman. He then said, "Let's see how Lelouch handles this."

The woman smirked. At that moment, the red sigil on her forehead began to glow with a bright red energy. The energy shifted through the woman's body and finally passed onto the sword that began to glow with some kind of electricity.

The sword cackled like fire or electricity to be precise. It wasn't any strange new power or anything. It was a simple application of her code.

The code has a power to 'shock' the person the user touched with his or her hand. It was essentially feeding the consciousness with a lot of information in a short span of time. Attacking the consciousness was basically attacking the soul, which was precisely what he was. The sword was only an extended part of her body that makes her chances to strike him increase.

Alexia, unexpected from a woman of her stature lunged like a trained professional, sword in hand. She precisely knew where Lelouch was.

The Demon Emperor as he was in the spirit form moved long before she could strike.

As soon as the invisible spirit moved away, Alexia turned around and lunged once more this time getting a lot closer than he was comfortable.

.She came for a third strike. But this time Lelouch decided to move as far as he could to a safer spot. That was when the woman made an unexpected move.

As Lelouch drifted away into the sky, Alexia climbed up the pillars to the bridge and caught up with him. Knowing that the situation was getting serious, he forced himself to put more prana into the movement. It didn't amount to much as his total capacity itself was pathetic by magi standards.

But at that moment, the woman tossed the sword right above his spirit form causing him to duck below. He was still a good distance away from her, meaning she couldn't touch him. But it was then she removed her other weapon. The gun she was holding earlier was now in her left hand—

'_No way!' _

The gun, which was charged much like the sword was trained at him and the trigger was already pulled.

In that freezing moment of desperation when dodging the attack seemed impossible, Lelouch immediately materialized in what seemed like an extremely foolish movement.

The bullet shot through him, and no sooner did it do so an extreme shock spread through his brain.

Visions he never wanted to watch appeared before his eyes. Visions of the day he killed his half-brother, visions of hundreds of people dying in the war he started, visions of the day when Suzaku fired the F.L.E.I.J.A war head, visions of Nunnally.

He lost the control on his body and crashed to the ground, his vision became blurred. The world seemed to darken around him as he began to lose unconsciousness.

* * *

Alexia smiled victoriously as she walked over to the struggling Demon Emperor, followed by Infinity who watched the Counter Guardian in interest.

"We got him," Alexia said, not smiling. She knew how Infinity treated Lelouch as a god. It was saddening that they were forced to—

"No, stop." Infinity warned the woman as he slowly stepped back. "There's a reason why he transformed back into human form."

Alexia suddenly felt something wrap around her legs. The Demon Emperor pulled the woman with his entire strength causing her to stumble. The Demon Emperor moved to a crouching position at that moment and gave the falling woman a straight kick in her stomach.

The said woman was shot into the distance and crashed into the water beyond.

"Alexia!" Infinity yelled as the woman went flying.

* * *

Lelouch was gasping for his breath. The bullet wound near his chest was taking longer to fix than his leg. It could perhaps be so because it was close to the vital area, his heart. Things could have been worse had he not shaped into his human form.

If he were in his spirit form, the entire force of the attack would have completely disabled his spirit with excess information causing instantaneous 'death'. It would be the same for even the world's strongest Heroic Spirit or the weakest. On the other hand in his material form he couldn't have 'died' immediately even if the bullet struck his heart as his body was slightly tougher than ordinary humans. Those were the perks for being a Counter Guardian.

Infinity was standing still, watching Lelouch in awe. "You make the absolutely impossible possible, don't you?"

The Demon Emperor took the gun that fell down when he kicked Alexia earlier. "I admit, that was the smartest way to use her. It's sad V.V didn't know he had so many advantages." Lelouch trained the gun at him.

"I can only use her in desperate times," Infinity smiled proudly, raising his hands in defeat. "She has limited wattage." Either man chuckled at this. But—

Without any hint of hesitation, Lelouch pressed the trigger of the gun immediately. The bullet struck Infinity straight on the chest—

At the same time the sound of metal ringing struck Lelouch's ears.

The image of Infinity holding his chest in pain disappeared. Instead he found him shooting Lelouch straight on.

The Demon Emperor jumped immediately. Lelouch found a bullet strike where he once stood, albeit from a slightly different direction than he anticipated. He fell on the concrete road, rolled along and stood up to find nothing. It was another illusion.

He felt something closing on to him from behind. He turned around and spotted Infinity behind him ready to fire his gun yet again.

'_He fired a bullet from the front a second ago,'_ Lelouch thought. '_And now he's standing behind me?'_

"That's a good pose," Lelouch said, as the image of Infinity begin to fade, "But I don't think you are humanly capable of doing that."

"Oops," Infinity was now standing a good distance away from Lelouch in the front side. "I forgot I can't be faster than you. Now is this more believable?"

"It's a fake," Lelouch said. '_He should be heaving for breath after all that burden on his heart.' _ The image disappeared but another appeared at the same distance. "Fake," Lelouch said again causing it to disappear again. "Fake again," Lelouch said even before he even took a proper look at them.

He then spotted the masked man sitting, taking the pillar as a cover, and heaving for breath. "Finally," Lelouch smirked as he aimed his gun at him. But he frowned, and immediately shifted to the opposite pillar. "But you must have figured it out by now." He then fired the shot, just as the real Infinity was spotted ducking under. "Now I've got you," Lelouch smirked again and fired again, "Or not." He said when heard the bullet struck against the concrete.

The game was interesting, but they won't play it forever. '_Either he will die of a heart failure or a bullet in his heart.'_ Or—

"Ha!" A certain blonde woman was back in the air. She was completely drenched in water, but she didn't mind it any bit as she prepared to give Lelouch a kick straight from the air.

Lelouch quickly jumped out of the way as the woman landed. '_Okay, it's getting dangerous now.'_ He couldn't handle both of them at once.

He was absolutely vulnerable to Alexia in spirit form. But it was absolutely dangerous to stay materialized with both of them around.

'_What a mess.'_

Then in that case. Lelouch suddenly put a grim face. "You are smart and excellent. I wouldn't hesitate to say that you have surpassed me as my descendant."

The wind around him started growing turbulent. The burst of wind grew increasingly rough and escalated into a windstorm, blowing the two away.

"What the hell!" Infinity muttered as he covered his eyes with his hands.

"But that doesn't mean you are smarter than me, or can defeat me."

The Demon Emperor no longer looked the same. His scrawny figure was surrounded by a majestic light that made one forget everything else in his demonic glory.

"The end justifies the means. Yes, I did accept that ideology and have followed it."

The white light started invading the surroundings as white waves of light joined with winds and escaped out from the epicenter that was Lelouch.

"I may be remembered as con man and a traitor who made it up to the echelons through cheating people. But I do have some ideologies. I do believe in something called humanity."

The light now completely engulfed the surroundings, making Lelouch an entity greater than the sun itself.

"I accepted its flaws, and tried to correct it when it was at its worst. Unlike you Abel, I didn't lose faith in it. I gave my life, hoping that it would be a better place, and it did become one for a hundred years at least."

He glared with violet eyes that weren't meant to be stared. Alexia instinctively covered for Infinity, so that he wouldn't end up under Lelouch's Geass. It was an unnecessary measure as he still had his mask.

"But instead of trying to change it. You're trying to destroy it, saying that it's inevitable. And so I, 99th Emperor, Lelouch Vi Britannia will punish you for your grave mistake forgetting that—"

The bright light engulfed them completely eating away everything they called reality. The bright light took away everything they could see, leaving nothing but whiteness in the process.

* * *

When Infinity opened his eyes, he was no longer standing on the same bridge he was a few seconds earlier. Instead, he was standing on a platform that stood magically stood in the air. The sky was orange, as if it were something that came straight of a portrait. But of course what made the scene grand was the structure that resembled a shrine of some ancient civilization.

The structure was built on numerous pillars lined after the other in an orderly fashion, surrounded by four arches surrounding the shrine. And standing amidst, basking in the glory of the new dimension was the Demon Emperor Lelouch.

"The only ones who should kill are those prepared to be killed."

The masked man stood speechless, utterly stunned by the wonder that happened. Alexia, who knew what it actually was was surprised too, as for how they came into this place.

"Where are we?" Infinity asked, a sense of dread in his voice as he looked around.

Lelouch moved his hands in a dramatic fashion, presenting the structure they were in. "Welcome to my Reality Marble, the Thought Elevator."

The visitors were silent, rendered speechless by the Emperor's exhilarating confidence.

"What the hell is that supposed to be?" Infinity asked in a low voice, mostly intending to mutter to himself than ask aloud.

A smile spread on Lelouch's lips. It wasn't just any smile, but a devious smile that was only amplified as threatening by his appearance. "This is a virtual world built from the image in my brain. Yes," he said as if to nail his words into Infinity's brain. "This is _my_ world. This is where only the truly intelligent can win."

* * *

Lelouch saw different reactions to his proclamation. One was utter confusion on Infinity's part. Two, was Alexia's subtle confusion as she could have probably known about C's world.

Truth be told, it wasn't C's world. It was his own emulation of a concept that rolled in his mind for many days after he defeated his father in the C's world. He wanted to make his own version of the thought elevator that was slightly different from the one in C's world. He wanted it to be closer to a game of wits like chess. That was how the idea came into life. It made perfect use of his strongest weapon, his brain.

"As the one who initiated this game, I believe I have a responsibility of explaining in the rules," Lelouch spoke like a host of some reality show. It couldn't be helped as he really took pride in the world he created. "In this world, your thoughts become your weapon. The game is pretty simple. To win you must kill me with whatever means you have. You could kill me with any weapon, either real or conceptual. A weapon will be manifested into reality as long as you believe a conceptual weapon of such kind could be created through a meaningful miracle. On the other hand you can extend the ordinary limitations of normal weapons. Anything is possible as long as it isn't absurd."

"And what exactly are the conditions for us to lose?" Infinity asked. Lelouch was honestly impressed as for how quickly he adapted to the situation despite how absurd it was.

"The moment I cast my Geass, you'll lose and consecutively die," Lelouch declared. "Alternatively I could directly kill you." He turned to Alexia, "As long as you are in the world if an immortal dies, you'll be eliminated out of the system."

To summarize, one could say the objective of the game was to slay the demon emperor without looking to his eyes _directly_. "I was being lenient as you weren't aware of the rules yet." A red sigil formed on each of Lelouch's eyes. "The game begins now."

Alexia made the first move. She pointed the gun at Lelouch and pressed the trigger to shoot at the Demon Emperor while Infinity lunged at Lelouch, a sword in his hand.

'_An obvious move like that.'_ Lelouch smirked.

Out of nowhere a gold plated armoring appeared around Lelouch's left eye. His violet eye was replaced by a blue one.

The blue eye shone with an aura that spread throughout the surroundings. No sooner did it happen, the attacking Infinity disappeared. The original one was found a good distance away from Lelouch, with a seemingly powerful rifle in his hand.

Meanwhile the bullet Alexia shot was bounced off by a green boundary field. It was a shield similar to the Blaze Luminous used by Knightmares. It didn't take more than an instant to think that. The Demon Emperor stood unfazed, leaving either of them in surprise.

"How did you—" Infinity was befuddled as he was clearly unprepared. "Something that could cancel Geass?"

"A Geass Canceler," Lelouch smirked, "Credit to a certain loyal friend of mine."

Infinity's mask hid his face but it was clear that he looked helpless right now. His main weapon Geass was disabled completely after all.

"Do you realize why I am the strongest in this world?" Lelouch asked, "Because I am smart. Abel Vi Britannia, as a man who was both Zero and Infinity, I believe you are just as smart. The only chance you have to win is to fight me properly in a mind to mind battle."

* * *

Infinity was honestly amazed and awestruck. The thing called Reality Marble, the thought elevator was honestly beyond his own comprehension. But if Lelouch's claims were correct, then this would be a battle of wits. The one who thinks better and faster will win. There were many options for him to kill him. But the most effective one would be—

The world around the masked vigilante changed. He was now sitting inside the cockpit of his Knightmare, a hadron canon in the hands of the mecha.

The powerful energy struck the location where the Demon Emperor stood, except a pink barrier stopped from hitting the Counter Guardian.

But that was what he gunned for. "Your shield can't hold against this canon forever!"

He has now forced Lelouch into a defensive move. The shield won't let him make any other moves, while the shield itself wouldn't last forever.

"My shield can last for a long time," Lelouch added with a thick smile. "If I attach it directly to an Yggdrasil drive powered by all the Sakuradite in the world."

'_Then I'm going to raise the intensity!'_ He pressed more power onto the trigger connected to the intensity controller.

Lelouch however stood calm. "Not if I use the strongest reinforcement for my shield," he stood still, his arms folded and his eyes looking bored. "I honestly expected something more intelligent. Trying to push with force won't work."

Then in that case.

* * *

The Knightmare disappeared. Instead, Infinity himself was found charging at Lelouch, a new sword in hand.

'_He's planning on a suicide?'_ Despite how physically capable Infinity was, he wouldn't stand a chance against a Heroic Spirit.

Lelouch lowered the energy shields, and extracted a gun from thin air and pulled the trigger without any forethought or afterthought.

But, in an astonishing move, the masked man disappeared in a white blur. The white blur shot past Lelouch, and came in from behind.

'_How did he move so fast?'_ Lelouch was thunder struck.

The sword was struck at him, attempting to pierce his head, but the Demon Emperor lifted his hand just in time as a metallic shield materialized on it.

The pointy end of the sword thrust into the shield. Much to Lelouch's dismay it made a small opening in the shield.

A gun materialized in Lelouch's left hand, which he aimed at the attacker. As Lelouch pulled the trigger, with a magical speed the human slid past the bullet and thrust his sword at the Demon Emperor again, only to be blocked by yet another shield.

The movements were too fast. In fact had Lelouch been an ordinary human he'd have been killed by now. But how did this Infinity attain such speed?

"I see," Lelouch smiled in realization. The movements seem to be conducted by an Yggdrasil Drive. "You are running on Sakuradite?" He studied the masked man from top to bottom. "You've made a bio weapon of yourselves. A mini-Knightmare."

"Exactly," Infinity proceeded to kick the demon emperor with an incomprehensible speed. But the Counter Guardian blocked the attack with hands that now wore gauntlets.

"Alexia now!" Infinity yelled.

The Demon Emperor's jerked his head. '_Slash Harkens?'_

The sharp weapons attacked to power-cords shot out of the woman's sleeves.

'_It's the sword trick again.'_ Lelouch realized the weapons were more than fatal.

In response a thick wall appeared out of nowhere and blocked the incoming harkens.

Lelouch scoffed. "I'm impressed," he said pushing him back. "Not only did you have an amazing idea in such a short time, you've actually worked out the details of its working. Too bad your partner isn't just as resourceful."

"I can always share my consciousness with her," Infinity smirked. Just in time, the wall behind him exploded into pieces.

Lelouch's eyes widened in surprise. "I got you!" Infinity exclaimed.

Lelouch was effectively trapped between two superhuman. He was at Infinity's gun point and Alexia's sword was coming at him, both at a speed he couldn't easily match with.

But despite that, Lelouch smiled.

The attacks never landed on Lelouch. The demon emperor stood proudly taking a glance at either of his opponents who were now fallen on the ground, convulsing in pain. Red sparks travelled through each of them, rendering the duo immobile. The source of it was a simple device in his hand.

"There's a downside to every plan," Lelouch muttered. He had effectively disabled them by using the same system he used to stop the Knightmares back in the Tokyo War. The shock would completely disable them, including their brains as per Infinity's formulation of the bioweapon. If they can't think straight, fighting in this world was impossible.

"Die!" A violent battle cry made Lelouch jump away.

If he hadn't moved in time, he'd have been slashed apart by the sword that hit the ground.

Lelouch glared at Alexia, who somehow managed to revive herself and attack him. '_The code revived her from the shock?'_

It's frustrating how dangerous the code can be, when under capable hands. He wasn't safe as long as this woman lurked around. With Infinity disabled, he had the best chance to finish her off.

Alexia wasn't difficult to handle. In fact it's her experience that made her a problem in the first place. It wasn't easy to fool someone who's around 150 year old.

"Lelouch," the woman said. "I won't let you touch Abel. So forgive me for being harsh." The woman charged with every ounce of energy put into the attack. Being transformed into a bio-weapon her speed exceeded even Lelouch's comprehension.

The sword slashed Lelouch as the Demon Emperor stood immobile. The demon emperor's torso was cut perfectly, separating the upper body and the lower one. To her surprise, nothing like blood came out as the Emperor continued to stand as if nothing happened.

The realization hit the woman too late as she was already staring into the eyes of the emperor. She just attacked a slab made of pure transparent glass. The real one was in fact standing behind, a victorious smirk on his face, and a gun in his hand.

She was blind with eagerness to kill him that she didn't realize the grave mistake she had made.

"Goodbye," Lelouch muttered as he shot the woman, wiping out her existence from the thought elevator.

"It pains to end the fight like this," Lelouch sighed walking towards the immobile White Knight. "Your idea was brilliant. But you've forgotten the basic fact that the king is the most important chess piece. Yes, it's important that you take the lead. But you shouldn't expose yourself to a premature checkmate. There's a balance for everything."

He removed the boy's helmet, and clutched him by his hair. He pulled them back, causing him to scream his eyes open. "Lelouch Vi Britannia commands your death."

* * *

A white light flashed the area. The two men appeared out of it, one standing with a remorseful look on his face, while the other was in a pool of blood, dead.

The blonde woman, Alexia hung her head in shame as she watched the person whom she contracted with lay lifeless. "The demon has taken his life," she said with a wry smile. "I suppose your after-life mission has been successful."

"Indeed," Lelouch muttered, not looking so happy. "Even if I had supported his ideals…" He couldn't have left him alive.

"I know," her voice was a whisper. It was only a surprise that she wasn't crying.

"Well, I'm done here. Infinity has died," Lelouch said after a pause. "Zero killed him. The Black Knights successfully saved the world from the terrorists. Isn't that right?"

There was silence on her apart. If his guess was correct, the only reason she supported Abel was because she had a contract with him. Much like how C.C supported him. "The world needs a hero to count on," he said.

Alexia stared at Lelouch in disdain, obviously not keen on being Zero forever. "You just need to search for that hero," Lelouch added somewhat cheerfully.

A bland smile spread across her face. "That hero can grant my wish, I guess?" She asked, unsure.

"I won't guarantee that," he said, remembering how he hadn't granted a certain woman's wish. He was perhaps a wasted contract that she had to regret for. C.C's mind was never easy to read.

"She didn't regret it," Alexia said, guessing the thoughts that wormed in his mind. "Losing you, I mean."

"C.C," he muttered her name, "Just how much do you know about her?"

"A lot," she said. "She shared the memories of her final days when I decided to grant her wish. Her days with you, I mean."

"What kind of memories were they?" He asked.

"Fond ones," Alexia said smiling for the woman whom she long remembered. "I won't exactly call it love. She's incapable of love. But you were something that drove away her loneliness. Even after death."

"On the other hand, Lelouch. After seeing you in her memories. I want to ask you a question."

The demon Emperor was expressionless. He asked, "What is it?"

"When your father tried taking away her immortality the first time. You practically confessed it to her, didn't you?"

Lelouch laughed at this, as if it were a bad joke. He turned around, "That's a wrong interpretation of the events, Alexia. I simply didn't want that filthy man to take her life. I'd rather give her ten lives than let him take one of hers. That's all."

The air was getting thicker. It was time for him to leave. He could feel his prana resource being cut off. Sooner or later, Alaya would summon him back to Avalon. His first mission as a counter guardian has been successful, albeit painful. Nonetheless, it was a job well done.

"The two of you are alike, Lelouch." Alexia said as Lelouch felt his body lighten up. "She wants to be loved, but she constantly pushes herself away from it by acting indifferent. You want to be understood, and yet your actions make you harder to understand. It saddens me when I realize the two of you make a wonderful pair and yet couples like you, Lelouch…" Alexia announced as his body began to disintegrate into nothingness.

Her voice grew distant, but he heard her saying it clearly.

"_Can never hope to fall in love."_

**Author's Note: 1) Eh, so that's how things end for Zero and Infinity. In case I didn't make it clear, Infinity was the source of threat for everyone's lives. The source for the death of millions. Yet no one would be aware of this because of his mask. If things had gone as Infinity planned. The White Knights would have completely destroyed the Black Knights, effectively dissolving UFN as they are symbiotic organizations.**

**Countries like E.U, Britannia would start plundering smaller countries and the White Knights would come to their aid, only to fuel terrorist acts in these countries. The continuation to that would be a bloodbath that would never end in peace thanks to the instigator.**

**2) The Factspheres work like a thermal scanner. As she possessed the code, and hence a lot of magical energy, the factspheres recognize Alexia as a bright red dot rather than the blue ones ordinary humans seemed from a great height.**

**The story resumes its 'actual' flow from next chapter! Thanks for reading. **


	9. The Green Haired Woman

**I've broke my promise to make a weekly update. I am guilty. I'll try updating more often from now on.**

**9. The Green Haired Woman**

The day had finally come.

The day that Tohsaka Rin would finally appear before the review committee. Her fate as the successor of Tohsaka family that had a rich heritage of six generations would be decided. If she was deemed unworthy, she would be stripped of her titles. Normally such a thing would rarely happen. People in the Magus Association always try to jump at one another's throats, but they would choose inconspicuous means. Challenging a Magus's worth in an open court rarely happens. It only meant that the person under trail would be set up.

But by whom? The question was a mystery. If a Magus's inheritance would be taken back, then the family's titles would be transferred to the nearest branch family. But none of the Japanese families had influence in the Association, including the Matou, so such an act was useless to them. In the end nothing made sense to Shirou. Tohsaka Rin however didn't have the same mental dilemma. It's because the woman didn't know someone was plotting behind her.

Tohsaka Rin, Emiya Shirou and Lord El-Melloi were all gathered before senate building, where the review would take place. Shirou was nervous, and so was Lord El-Melloi who although didn't show it much. Tohsaka Rin however looked calm and confident. Her confidence was admirable, Shirou thought. But knowing Rin, this could be her camouflaging her true self for the Tohsaka name.

The large wooden door opened and a young man in a blue aristocratic dress appeared, "The Senate is calling," he said before disappearing back into the room.

"Alright Rin," Lord El-Melloi placed a hand on her. "Once we go in, remember I won't be able to support you. Good Luck." He was one of the Committee members.

That was the wrong kind of encouragement, Shirou thought. Not that he expected the Lord to give any. "Good Luck, Tohsaka." Shirou gave his best cheeky smile.

The charcoal-haired woman gave him a smile filled with confidence before she walked into the door. As soon as she went in, the Lord turned to Shirou and nodded before following his pupil into the room.

Shirou knew what the nod meant. It meant that he finally has some time to investigate the green-haired girl who surprisingly seems to have tried approaching him yesterday. She was sent back by the guards, sadly. Such was the disadvantage of running an entire security unit under the influence of magic.

* * *

"She isn't here today," the bald headed man, Busso said as he saw through the telescope of the long range rifle. The cross-hairs were zoomed on the logo that read Pizza Hut.

The redheaded Takahashi Kuro took a sip of his drink before he set it onto the table and continued to work on the bigger gun in his hands. It was a shotgun that had a heavy impact when compared to an ordinary rifle. "Why the hell should both of our targets be in the boundary set up by the Association?!" The frustrated redhead gritted his teeth.

The frustration came from the fact that they having been waiting for three days in the same hotel room. The green-haired woman and Tohsaka Rin were both inside the range of the field set up by the association. The magi hunters had a good idea as for how long the field extended, and so set up their equipment in a hotel room that gave them good view of the surrounding areas.

While they didn't had much hopes on Tohsaka Rin to show up, they spotted Emiya Shirou once. Of course what surprised them most was when they spotted the green-haired woman trying her way into the Association. They kept their watch on her after that, and were forced to move to three different locations before they spotted a pattern in her movements. She only stopped at Pizza Hut and its branches every day.

"But still," Busso said, as he continued his watch. "I still can't understand how that dead girl wound up alive."

"It's obvious," the redhead said, "She must be an immortal or at least has an ability that helps her regenerate even after death."

The baldheaded man stumbled on the tripod when he heard that. He turned back, "Immortal?! I thought immortals were a myth."

"The magi have been searching for never ending life since the birth of Magecraft," Kuro snickered, "I can't believe a woman achieved it."

"Its amazing coincidence isn't it," Busso snorted in reply. "The random girl we picked for killing Tohsaka Rin ended up into a treasure."

Kuro smirked at this. Not only that. The green-haired woman for some reason was looking for something in the association, probably Tohsaka Rin and Emiya Shirou. It means that he could finish the assignment he was being paid for, while concentrating on the woman who was more than invaluable.

"Let's continue to watch," Kuro said.

"Aye, aye," Busso grunted as he shifted from one eye to the other and maintained his watch.

More than that, he also needs to learn more about Emiya Shirou, for two reasons. One, why did he carry the last name of the famous magi killer who was a legend. Two, how in the world was he tracing those words, let alone without the help of a crest.

* * *

As Shirou walked out of the Senate building, a familiar face was waiting for him. It wasn't much of a familiar face as he only recently met the said person. Not to mention their first interaction was extremely awkward.

It was Casey Finn, with his ever-princely smile. His clothes were sparkling, his hair was neatly combed. The man was perfection to its limit. Shirou disliked that, because it reminded him of the façade Tohsaka usually maintains.

"Good Morning Shero," Casey greeted with a shake hand.

Shirou was still feeling awkward from their previous talk. He ended up yelling at Casey and insulted him, something a lowly magus like him shouldn't according to the Association's hierarchical way of treating people.

"Casey," Shirou replied with a smile and shook hands with Casey.

"I presume you were here to support Rin?" Casey asked. But he spoke without letting the redhead answer. "I've been thinking about what you said the other day."

Shirou blinked, "About what?"

"Why don't we go and talk by the fountain over there?" Casey pointed to a more secluded location. The redhead wanted to refuse the offer as he had more pressing things to do, but he followed the blonde anyway.

After ascertaining that there was no one else around Casey spoke, "Believe me or not Shirou, I wanted to accept Rin's offer when she proposed me." He took a deep breath, "It was a bold thing to do, considering the amount of pride she has."

The sour fact that Rin proposed someone rubbed Shirou the wrong way, but he remained calm and listened to the blonde who continued, "She has everything, Shirou. Blood, wealth, beauty but most importantly she has a kind heart, at least by Magi standards."

Shirou nodded. While she was stringent and somewhat selfish, Tohsaka had a kind heart. She sticks to her word once she promises someone something. The pact he had with her in the Grail War was a proof.

Noticing the understanding expression on his face Casey smiled. "That's why," he said, looking at the senate building at a distance. "I wanted to tell the real reason I rejected her."

Shirou closed his eyes and shook his head, "You can share with me." If he wanted to be Rin's partner he needed to know why she was rejected by the man she proposed, as it served some closure to him.

"My father," Casey began. "Never loved me," His eyes were filled with sadness and anguish that was rarely seen on his face. "He wanted to have a son who's a prodigy. He married a woman with a good magi lineage for that. But I was a defunct," he said, "At least by my father's standards."

He took another deep breath before speaking again, "I worked hard for him, I earned a reputation for being perfect in the association. I always tried getting the top grades. But in the end, he still viewed me as a failure because I didn't have the skills to continue the research we have been working for generations."

"That's why Shero," Casey muttered. "That's why I thought I wasn't good enough for Tohsaka. On top of that my father had good relations with a Japanese family called Shinkiro; he wanted me to marry their daughter rather than Rin because he hated the Tohsaka's."

"So your father didn't want you to marry Tohsaka?" Shirou could never understand the pride the magi carried. But he wasn't in a place to comment on it.

"But your words that day made me realize something, Shero. If life were to give me a second chance," Casey sighed, "I'd fight my dad, and then marry Rin." His face was crestfallen, "Although, it seems the window has passed."

Yes, because Rin was now Shirou's, or at least till the dance. Once the dance ceremony was over, Shirou would propose her, and then if she accepts him, marry her when they return to Fuyuki.

"That's why," a fake smile crept on Casey's face. "I wanted to wish you good luck. And," he pulled Shirou in an embrace, "Please take care of Rin."

The redhead was surprised by the sudden movement. He patted Casey on the back and pulled himself back. "Thank you Casey," Shirou was more than just moved. "I'll promise," He said, "I'll love Rin to the fullest."

Any doubts Shirou had in mind till then vanished.

"Now if I may take your leave," Shirou smiled, "I have an important business to attend."

Casey raised an eyebrow, "You're going somewhere?"

"Yeah, just a small errand for the Lord," Shirou said.

Casey chuckled at this. He very well knew how the Lord could be demanding. The two men then parted. As Shirou walked out to the main gates of the Association campus, a smile crept on his face.

All he had to was catch the green-haired girl and all the problems in his life would vanish.

* * *

A state of bliss.

That was what Lelouch felt he was in, at that moment. He was hovering in the dark space, with nothing around. There wasn't any sound to hear, nothing to see, or feel.

As he opened his eyes, memories returned. Memories of what he had done as a Counter Guardian. Memories of the woman Alexia, memories of Abel Vi Britannia, memories of him saving the world from a human made apocalypse.

"I see," Lelouch muttered. All of that only seemed like a dream, as if someone else fought for him, in his name.

_"You have done a wonderful job in protecting mankind," _A mystical voice spoke.

"Alaya," Lelouch recognized the voice. "You don't need to speak to me to let me know things, I assume." Before he was sent to the living, Alaya simply inputted knowledge into his brain. Knowledge that made sure he didn't need to ask any questions.

_"Lelouch,"_ the mystical voice said teasingly, _"Always worried about the tiniest details."_

Lelouch smiled at this. "You're speaking to me because I've earned your respect?"

_"One can put it that way,"_ the voice answered. _"I've sensed that I fiddling with your knowledge may have hurt your pride. So, I decided to speak to you instead."_

"About what?" He frowned. He was in no mood to jest. His mind was still reeling from the things that happened in the living world.

_"Has returning to the living been painful?"_

Lelouch scoffed at the question. Painful? There was no worse way his heart could be torn apart. The same world he wanted to put in peace underwent terrible destruction. He saw people die in the worst ways possible. He even had to kill people for maintaining the same peace he left his life for. If he were to fight again and again, what was the point dying in the first place?

"It's not like you could delete it or something," he sighed, rubbing his head.

_"I could,_"Alaya replied immediately.

"Of course," Lelouch puffed the air in his lungs. "You had a way to fiddle with my knowledge, deleting my memory must be easy too."

_"On the contrary, it's difficult to _delete_ memories."_

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at this. _"Memories are interwoven,_" Alaya explained. _"The only way I can _delete_ a person's memory without him suspecting something's wrong is by erasing his memory completely."_

"Then why did you offer to delete—" Lelouch paused. "I mean, erase my memories."

_"I said it's difficult to erase memories,_" the voice said with a hint of playfulness. _"But what you have isn't your memory."_

Lelouch understood there was something Alaya was hiding, and it wanted to be cryptic about it. "Care to explain," he asked.

_"What you are in right now is called Alaya's cradle. This is where I store Heroic Spirits whenever they are needed in the real world."_ There was a pause, _"I'm confusing you, right?"_

"A bit," Lelouch admitted. "But I have a good idea of what you're speaking. If I am correct, you must be trying to tell that the Lelouch who appeared in the living world isn't the real me."

_"You're smart. I had a hard time with the others,"_ the voice said. _"Yes, as you see, sending spirits from the dead to the living is something even I can't perform as I am a system, not an existence."_

In other words Alaya was like a computer or a robot, except it runs by the collective will of all the people in the world. It wasn't an existence like god or human.

"_Reincarnation of spirits or sending back the dead to the living is possible only for higher existences. I, instead use my ability to exist in both living and the dead to take copies of the Heroic Spirit I need and create a pseudo summoning."_

"I get it now," Lelouch smiled, "So if I don't wish to retain my memories from the experience I faced in the living—"

_"I'll simply have to kill the essence of the copy that is sent back to your original spirit."_

Then everything that happened earlier, or rather many years in the future, could be forgotten? It was a wondrous gift indeed. Especially because what transpired was nothing but painful for him.

_"So do you want to forget everything that happened?"_

"No," Lelouch simply answered. Yes, he could easily free himself from the agony he was facing. But erasing it from his memories meant that he wasn't ready to accept what happened. It was an insult to his pride. He shouldn't have any regrets with his decision. Even if it meant that his sacrifice was only a partial success.

Besides, his goal was to create a gentler place for Nunnally. It remained a gentle place till Nunnally lived. His sacrifice was a success, even if it didn't seem so.

_"I admire your decision."_

"And I'm glad for that," Lelouch said. "But there's something I want to know."

_"I can guess,"_ the voice said. _"If I am a system and not an existence, then can't people break through me? That's your question, right?"_

"You must have answered it again and again," Lelouch realized. "Yes, it means that you are helpless if someone tries to tamper with you. Just like a computer to a virus."

_"But I do have a good anti-virus system,"_ the voice chuckled. _"Now it's time for you to answer my question."_

"What is that?" Lelouch asked.

_Lelouch Vi Britannia,"_ the voice asked in a formal tone. _"What are you to me? A virus or an update to my anti-virus?"_

Before the raven-haired had a chance to answer the question, his consciousness began to disappear from the world he was in.

Perhaps, Alaya meant that the answer was something he needs to decide for himself.

* * *

Shirou looked at the large board that read 'Pizza Hut'. Was this really the place? The redhead wondered. This was the place Lord El-Melloi's familiars spotted her many a times. There were many things wrong with that of course.

First of all, why would a woman who wanted to kill them so openly reveal her location? Especially when she probably must have known the fact that she was in the boundary field of the association.

Secondly, why would a woman so dangerous spend most of her time at a pizza corner? It didn't make sense, unless the woman was innocent and has no clue about mages and familiars whatsoever. But then the fact that she was loitering around the association's building hardly made sense because there was no way she could possibly know about his location.

The more he thought, the more confusing it got. So Shirou had long since stopped thinking and decided to go with the action.

He pushed the glass doors open and walked into the air-conditioned restaurant. He extracted the photo Lord El-Melloi gave him from the surveillance footage and walked to the man standing by the counter.

The said man was in his mid-thirties. He wore a blue t-shirt over a black pant. He had a smile on his face, which he used to greet every person that walked in. Shirou of course, was no exception.

"What would you like to have, sir?" The man asked Shirou, the beaming smile still on his face.

"Uh," Shirou placed the photo on the desk. "Have you seen this woman, around here?"

The man's smile disappeared as soon as he saw the photo on the desk. Instead, a frown filled with anger took its place. "So you must be the Japanese boyfriend, she was talking about."

"Excuse me?" Shirou was befuddled.

"I hope you have come with a truck load of cash, sir," the man said. "Because your girlfriend has been quite a nuisance."

"I-I'm really sorry," Shirou gave a helpless laugh, "I'm not this girl's boyfriend. She's someone I'm searching for."

"So you do know her don't you, sir?" The man raised his eyebrows. "She specifically told her boyfriend who works in the church would come to visit her. My night shift replacement was foolish enough to get tricked by her and took her orders on credit."

Shirou scratched his head. What the hell should he do? "Can you show me the bill?" He asked.

The said man opened the drawer on his desk and extracted a stack of bills from the inside and put it before Shirou.

Shirou looked at the stack strangely, "Which of this belongs to her?"

The man laughed, "All of it."

"_All?_" Shirou exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear. About a dozen pair of eyes looked at him as if he was a lunatic. All of that in five days?

"Credit or Cash?" The man asked, a smile on his face.

"I uh," Shirou looked at the bills. "I can't pay _this_ much." He didn't even have to see how much it totaled to.

"I'm afraid we can't take that as answer," the man said curling his fists. "Now, we are normally very courteous to our customers. But—" The man walked across the table and approached the redhead who took a couple of steps back.

"I said I can't pay," Shirou said weakly as the man continued to get closer to him. Shirou realized he was in danger, and he couldn't afford so at the moment. "Look," Shirou said placing a hand on the man's chest. "There's another way I can help." The man stopped and looked Shirou in the eye. It was precisely what Shirou wanted. _"Now, go to sleep."_

Something strange happened then. The man who was about to attack Shirou suddenly staggered on his feet and slumped onto the redhead. Soon, he was snoring like he was in deep sleep.

"Wow," Shirou muttered as he placed the sleeping man on the floor. A couple of people who watched this realized something was wrong. "He fell asleep," Shirou said, laughing nervously. "Look, he's snoring."

Having set the man on the floor, Shirou turned his heels and walked out of the Pizza Hut as fast as he could before anyone overly suspicious caught him.

For once the basic training he took in the Magus Association had helped him out. Hypnotizing an ordinary person to sleep was one of the most basic techniques. It didn't have any use in mage combats because at Shirou's level, even a five year old magus can resist it.

He couldn't find the green-haired woman and on top of that the only lead they had on her, the Pizza Hut, turned out to be a dead end. The woman must be one hell of an eater to have made a bill like that.

"What the heck should I do?" Shirou wondered. He didn't know anything about her except that she was a voracious pizza eater. But if the woman really wanted to meet him, then she should have left him a clue, right?

Suddenly the words of the man rang in his ears.

_"She specifically told her boyfriend who works in the church would come to visit her."_

A smirk spread on Shirou's face. "Alright, it's time to settle this!"

* * *

"Kuro," Busso's voice carried a slight amount of excitement. "Guess whom did I just spot at the Pizza Hut."

Kuro frowned, "The girl?"

"Nah," Busso said, "Emiya Shirou. Do we shoot him?"

_'Emiya Shirou?'_ Kuro was excited. "No, Busso. He must have come searching for the green girl."

At that moment, Kuro's phone began to buzz with vibration. "Hold the shot, Busso," Kuro said before putting the phone to his ear. "Yes," he muttered.

"Emiya Shirou has stepped out of the association building," a voice spoke. "Did you guys spot him?"

Kuro hesitated for a second. "No," he lied. "He must have gone to the other side of the city."

"Then go to the other side and kill him," the voice spoke, as if he was explaining to a five year old. "I want him dead before he puts his filthy foot in the association again."

Kuro frowned. "I thought Tohsaka was the target," he asked.

"There's been a change of plan," the voice had a haughty tone. "Tohsaka Rin will stay alive. Shirou dies. Any other doubts?"

"No sir," Kuro muttered, before turning the phone off. He was dissatisfied with the new orders their hirer had given. He wanted Emiya Shirou alive because of two reasons. One, he wanted him to hunt the green girl. Two, his projection. Had the boss stuck to his original plan, he could have used it to bait Tohsaka too and hit three birds with one stone.

"What's the deal Kuro?" the baldheaded man asked.

"Busso," he said rising to his feet, "The girl's more important than a couple of bucks, aye?"

"Aye, aye," Busso answered.

"Set a familiar to watch Shirou from outside the boundary," he said taking his shot gun. "We'll follow him."

There was a smirk on Busso's face. Busso knew Kuro pretty well, and the grim expression Kuro carried right now meant that they were violating the rules they set for the customers. It was the price they had to pay for an immortal woman. Busso though hardly cared about breaking rules.

* * *

The taxi stopped at a good distance before the abandoned church in the outskirts of the city. There were many churches, but if one wanted a secluded place to meet, the one in the outskirts made sense.

The redhead paid the fare, and continued the rest of his path by walk.

The grey building stood at a distance before him, surrounded by a couple of houses that were equally desolate. The building had a sense of gloominess that reminded Shirou of the Kotomine Church.

"Why is it always a church?" Shirou mumbled. It was as if some higher existence liked to put him in situations where he had to visit abandoned churches alone.

Shirou took a deep breath as he waked towards the church. He studied that the door was broken and made a creaking noise as it swung with the wind. Great, he thought.

The insides of the church would most likely be dark and smelly. Shirou knew he was being ridiculous, but he absolutely loathed churches. They only got him into trouble.

As he walked his way towards the building, "You have finally come." A voice spoke, halting Shirou's footsteps.

From the shrubbery around, a woman emerged, with hair that was as green as the undergrowth. She walked with steady footsteps to the center of the road, and then finally turned to him.

She had a long green hair that touched her hips, golden eyes that could only be called angelic and most importantly a naughty smile on her lips. She wore white robes that were obviously too big for her. "It took you three days to come for me."

Shirou didn't know what to say. He was speechless for many reasons. One, the woman was clearly dead when they first met. Two, he wanted to be careful. Lord El-Melloi suspected that she might have been in cahoots with the guys who tried to kill Tohsaka. Three, she was extremely beautiful.

Beautiful? He cursed the way his hormones jumped into his thoughts sometimes. The woman was dangerous and he was worried about how beautiful she was?

Shirou put the best of his frowns and asked, "Who are you?"

The question was ambiguous, but the ambiguity in it would narrow down what was her business with him when she answers it.

"Who am I?" The woman repeated whimsically. "Have you already forgotten about the contract we had?"

"Contract?" Shirou was confused. He didn't remember making a contract with her. As far as he knew she was a dead woman he carried and got him into trouble.

The woman frowned at his blank face. "Didn't you come following me because you're interested about the power you received?"

"Power," Shirou was more confused. "I don't understand what you're talking about." Was she playing with him to buy time for her friends?

But if this were an ambush and she wanted him to meet at this particular location, then shouldn't she have called them already? Were they struck in a traffic jam? That sounded silly, even to Shirou.

"What do you mean?" She was irritated for some reason. "I'm talking about your Geass. I've shared all that information with you already." She pursed her lips, "You have a twisted Geass and we're both bound by the contract. I thought we established that much already?"

"I'm sorry I don't remember establishing anything like that," he frowned. "The only thing I know is that you are a threat to my friend's life. I want you to tell who sent you and for what reason."

* * *

C.C was utterly confused. Why in the world wouldn't he remember any of the discussion they had the other day? She still remembered it clear as a day. She made a contract with him and he refused. Then he stubbornly tried to break her consciousness apart to free himself. The result was a twisted Geass.

Emiya Shirou, he was a man who worked hard for his goals and lacked only in one thing, luck. The Geass he originally received was something that could always result him a win. A Geass that causes streaks of luck and pull him from an impossible to win situation to victory. Only the most unlucky people in the world can receive the Geass. But he twisted it to something else. Something else she didn't know. It was precisely why she had worked so hard to set up the meeting they were having now. But it seems he had no memory of what happened at all.

Worse, he has misunderstood her intentions and thinks she was with someone else. This was really a problem. Explaining Geass in this situation would only confuse him more. She had to be patient, find a way to create a mental connection with him and try repairing his memory. But for that she needed physical contact. An idea formed in her brain.

* * *

"Or else?" The woman replied after a brief pause. She twirled her hair teasingly, "If you're really that bothered about your friend, then why don't you come at me?"

The woman was bold, Shirou realized. "I don't like harming women," he replied.

"That's sad," she smiled for some reason.

"Alright," Shirou said maintaining his expression. "You don't leave me any choice." He closed his eyes and muttered the two words that surged magical energy into his body.

"Trace On."

The circuits inside his body were filled with the unnatural energy. Shirou opened his eyes, "Kansho…Bakuya." He muttered the names of his favorite swords.

The twin swords materialized in his hands. The green haired woman watched the unusual activity with interest.

"This is my last warning," Shirou said. "Like I said, I don't like fighting people for no reason."

The green-haired woman gave him an amused look, as if his threats meant nothing to her. "I know you very well," her teasing smile remained on her face. "You can't harm me."

"True," he said, "But if you don't leave me any other choice…" He prepared himself in a battle stance. The woman was defenseless as far as he knew because she didn't seem like she had activated her magic circuit, if she had one that is.

The expression on the woman's face changed. Her haughty smile turned into a terror-ridden one. Her golden orbs shook with fear, as if she had seen a ghost.

Granted he said he was going to be serious, but Shirou actually didn't have any intentions to harm her. Why did she look so terrified? Was he intimidating or something?

"Alright," Shirou yelled. "Here I come!"

The woman looked at him as if she just stepped out of a trance. "Wait!" She exclaimed.

* * *

"True," the redhead said, "But if you don't leave me any other choice…"

C.C wanted to laugh. She wasn't buying his threats. She knew Shirou inside out and he wouldn't harm a fly even if it were going to do the entire world some benefit. The redhead maintained a battle stance only to threaten her.

C.C didn't judge a man just by his actions. She knew that he had no intentions to harm her and so he wouldn't. There was no reason to fear. But then—

A strange feeling enveloped C.C's heart. She felt some strange power around her. The power didn't come from Shirou but something much more powerful.

She instantly realized what it was. It was the same power that had been chasing her since the past few days she was in the city. Whatever the force was, C.C knew it was dangerous but kept quiet as it didn't harm her but only followed her.

The power had been keeping a vigil on her and—

C.C's heart skipped a beat when a powerful spirit came and landed before her. It was invisible to mortal eyes, she realized because it looked like pure energy, and Shirou didn't seem to give any reaction.

"Alright," Shirou yelled. "Here I come!"

C.C immediately realized what was happening. The power, whatever it was, was trying to protect her. It assumed Shirou as her enemy. It means—

"Wait!" C.C exclaimed.

* * *

Shirou let out a cry as he lunged at the woman. He would bring the sword close to her and stop. It'd leave her terrified, and understand he was being serious.

He jumped in the air and lifted his right hand, as if he was planning to strike her down with a heavy blow. He expected the sword to come down right before her face, leaving the woman terrified. But he definitely didn't expect a powerful blow in his stomach when he did so.

Shirou felt as if someone hit him in the stomach with a thick iron bar. The impact was powerful enough to throw him a good distance away. The redhead crashed on the road and rolled like a ball that was kicked by a soccer player. He lost grip on Kansho and Bakuya in the process. The two swords fell at a good distance away from him and disappeared later.

His stomach felt as if whatever he ate in the morning was going to come out. Instead, he coughed up some spit out of his mouth. Rubbing the area under his lips he got up, wondering what the hell kicked him so hard.

What he saw shocked the redhead the most. It was a knight in a full armor from top to bottom. The armor seemed like it was forged with something unearthly. The armor was a complete purple, with hints of grey here and there. Even the eyes were covered by a black visor that matched well with the purple.

Of course it wasn't his appearance that terrorized Shirou the most, but it was the magical energy that the person exhumed.

Without a doubt…it could be…

"A Heroic Spirit?" Shirou muttered in utter confusion.

**And this is where things start. Just to rest the speculations that might go wild…the guy I introduced in the end is an OC!**

**I know I have too many OCs, but they're necessary for this story. But don't you worry; I'll make sure they won't be reaching Mary Sue levels.**


End file.
